


Two Journeys

by Sydrsharris



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 48,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28218648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sydrsharris/pseuds/Sydrsharris
Summary: "You don't understand how absolutely frustrating it is when the person you long for doesn't want to let you in. I want you, can't you see that? I want to know you, I want to see you, I want to be with you but you make it impossible.""Turn around."All characters other than my OC Sindre Hejran are property of Disney. The storyline will partially follow the show-not all dialogue and ideas are mine.*The story is going to follow to the end of season two but after that, it may go way off the tracks*
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	1. I

Walking in from the dreary and rainy day outside, I dropped my burlap bag on the floor just beside the entrance of my little hut. I looked over at my small cot, longing for the warm blankets to cover my aching body. I had been out since dawn, trying to find some food source to nourish my body. As I shuffled through my home, trying to put together some "meal" I caught a glimpse of myself in the shattered mirror. At one point, I could have been considered beautiful, but today my blue eyes were dull and sad; my pale skin looked bruised and malnourished; my lips were dry and cracked of dehydration. I was always told that I was a spitting image of my mother, that was one thing I was always proud of. Whenever I see myself, I'm filled with the guilt of her death.

I was only 19 when I decided that I wanted to start my own life, outside of my small hometown on the planet of Nevarro; there wasn't much there for me and I knew that if I didn't leave then, I would become one of the elderly ladies who sat in the market trying to sell goods that no one wanted. When I decided to leave, I knew that I wanted to be somewhere remote; just me and the nature surrounding. I hired a ship with the little money I had left and fled to the small planet of Tython with the clothes on my back and the air in my lungs. I had known that if something went wrong, my family would always be there to help, but I could not have been more wrong.

2 weeks after my departure, I learned of an invasion in my hometown. Empire soldiers stormed the planet of Nevarro, slaughtering my family and friends in the process. I can't imagine the pain my parents suffered in those moments, but I know that they were glad I had left when I did. The only thing I'm certain of was why the Empire soldiers were there. News of a Mandalorian kidnapping one of their assets soon traveled to my radio; from that moment I knew that if I ever met this Mandalorian, he would owe me everything.

I came back to myself staring in the mirror as tears slipped from my eyes. I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand and returned to chopping a root I had harvested on my hike. I placed a small bowl on the fire I had started earlier in the day and filled the bowl with my vegetable. The smell of the roasting food filled my hut; I placed some left-over bone broth I had in the bowl as well and waited for it to simmer.

Once my meal had finished, I sat on my cot and ate as I looked over the family memorabilia I had brought with me. My mother's comb, my father's first helmet he wore when he learned to fly. I felt a smile come to my face as I remember how proud he was when I lifted my first ship off the ground at the age of 14. On my second night here, I found a small ship nearby, enough for me and maybe three to four others. I've worked on it for months, trying to get it into top shape, and finally, I was able to move it to my home.

After finishing my meal, I stripped myself of my clothes and rinsed myself with a rag and warm water. I placed my dirty clothes in the water and scrubbed them with my hands to remove the sweat and stains they had. I placed them on the rack above my fire to dry and fill my hut with warm moisture. As I lay in my cot dozing off, I thought about my family and what would have happened if I had been there but before I could get to the worst I fell into a deep sleep and was overcome with nightmares.

Images flashed before my eyes; a metal staff, a glowing sword, red laser beams, a cloaked woman, a man suited in pure metal, a green...pet? I shot up in my bed and clutched the blanket to my bare chest. Sweat was beading on my forehead but the room surrounding me was cold. Light peeked under my makeshift door, signaling that morning had arrived. I laid back in my cot and tried to process what exactly I had seen. Since I had learned the news of my parents, I had these vivid dreams every night, all different scenarios, but all containing the same two things, the man in the metal suit and the green alien that accompanied him.

I decided that if I hadn't been able to decipher them before, I wasn't going to be able to now. I slid out of my bed and stretched before walking to the fire pit and grabbing my freshly cleaned clothes. I walked to my makeshift mirror and struggled into my outfit: a grey shirt, brown pants, worn down boots, and my father's leather jacket from when he was a teenager. I brushed out my hair with my mother's comb and braided it to my right shoulder. I feathered my bangs out and continued to fill my burlap bag with the necessities for today's hike. Before leaving my home, I made sure to start the fire for tonight when I returned.

I exited my hut and walked into the warm sunlight of the day. The air was heavy with moisture from the rain the day prior. I began my trek to a small shrine where I find my peace, an area of standing stones in the formation of a circle. I found it directly after the news of my mother and father, it was almost as if I had been called to it. I always travel there when I think of them, the coincidence of finding it makes me feel like that's how they are communicating with me from beyond. Sometimes I'll sit there for mere minutes, sometimes for hours.

As I was coming upon the last large hill before the shrine, I watched as two Empire ships floated towards the sky. I could feel my blood begin to boil as I think of what they had done to my family. Just before flying out of the atmosphere, the top one exploded and destroyed the bottom on the way down. I crouched down and hid behind a nearby boulder. I watched as a streak of black flew down from the sky and behind me, an explosion, most likely a ship. Droids flew down from the sky directly to my shrine and within seconds they had taken off back to their ship. I sat behind the boulder heavily breathing and clutching my bag to my chest.

After a few minutes, I thought that it would have been safe to see the damage. I stood up from behind my boulder and within seconds I could hear the click of guns pointing in my direction. I dropped my bag and held my hands in the air, "Please, I live here, I don't mean you any harm." I tried to get a good look at what I was facing but the glaring sun left me blinded.

"What's your name,"

"I'm sorry?" I was thrown off guard by a filtered voice like they were speaking through a mask.

"What is your name?"

"Sindre, Sindre Hejran, I'm from Nevarro, I moved here not too long ago," I stepped forward slightly in hopes that they could see that I'm just a young girl and completely unarmed. I heard the lowering of their weapons and relief filled my body. "I can help you; I have a home nearby with food and water," I used my hand as a visor to better see who I was conversing with. When I caught a glimpse of the man I had been talking to, my breath hitched in my throat and my body tensed. It was the man from my dreams, the man in the metal suit, and who I can assume is the man who indirectly killed my parents. The Mandalorian.


	2. II

The four of us sat around the fire back in my home. I had been able to scrape together a large enough meal for us to each have a reasonable share. As I handed out the bowls to each person I sat and watched as they ate. The woman across from me had long, dark hair that was braided just like mine. Next to her, an older man who had a scar running down his face. On the floor beside my cot laid his green armor and her rifle. The two sipped from their bowls and engaged in small chatter. I peered beside me and saw the Mandalorian toying with a small, metal ball, not eating.

"There's a chair outside if you need to eat in privacy, I've heard members of your kind don't take off their helmet," He tilted his head in my direction, then stood from his stool and walked to the door. I sat there, knowing that he has no idea the pain he has caused me but wondering if he did at the same time. After a while, everyone in the hut was finished with their food and I collected the bowls to bring to my basin. I stood behind my door and called out to him, "Are you finished with your meal? I'm cleaning the dishware right now." I got no reply and turned back to clean what was already in the basin. Moments later, the door opened, and he brought me his empty bowl. The two others had been sitting around the fire, getting ready to fall asleep. He walked over and talked to them for a moment before returning to my side.

"I see that you have a ship. We're currently on a mission to retrieve a... friend of mine which the Empire kidnapped, both mine and Fett's ships were destroyed, and we need a new- "

"So, it is you," The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them, "You're the Mandalorian, from Nevarro, the one who stole something from the Empire," I stated, "And got my parents killed," I said to myself. I could feel the energy shift between us.

He stayed silent for a moment which made me think that he heard my final remark. "I'm sorry for any pain I might have caused you or your family, but right now my family is at stake," he stated, "I only need you to take us on one trip and we can never cross paths again."

I stood there for a moment looking down at my hands, "Where to?" I questioned.

"Nevarro City, I have a friend there who can get me some important information regarding the location of my friend." I thought about it for a second. Returning to my home planet could unlock an entire river of problems, but it could also help me cope, and maybe that's what I need.

"Okay, on the condition that I get to visit the remnants of my hometown while we're there." Once I agreed his posture corrected and it seemed as if he were filled with...hope?

"Tomorrow morning then, first light, we'll take off for Nevarro," I nodded my head in agreement and returned to my spot by the fire. The remainder of the night was filled with stories from the Mandalorian and the elder man, Boba Fett. I learned the woman was named Fennec Shand, a mercenary and assassin. The fire started to crackle out as we began to fall asleep. I listened to Fennec's light snore as I stared at the ceiling and pondered what tomorrow would bring. I listened to the Mandalorian shift in his corner to face the three of us sleeping on the other side. I let Boba sleep in my cot; the old man didn't need to be sleeping on the hard floor when the three of us are in perfect health to do so. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my nerves before starting my nightly routine of imagining what my parents would be doing if they were still alive.

That night my dreams were different. Instead of being a bystander, it's as if I was watching through the eyes of someone else. It was a shorter person, probably a child, using some sort of magic to fight off two stormtroopers. I door in the back of the room opened but I could only see a blur of the person. Dark skin with a black suit, an older fellow, followed by two stormtroopers. The stormtrooper to his left pulled out some sort of weapon and shot a blue ring towards me.

I shot up from my spot, breathing heavily, I looked around the room and saw that the others looked like they were still sleeping. I stood over and wiped myself off before walking over to my door. I peered outside to see that the sun was just barely coming over the horizon. I slipped out and walked towards my ship to ensure that we had everything we needed. I lowered the entry ramp and stepped into my ship. I used my finger to wipe off some of the dust that collected. I looked around at the masterpiece I pulled together, my father would be proud.

"Do you need help with anything?" I shrieked and nearly jumped out of my skin. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." I held my hand to my heart as I tried to catch my breath.

"No, no I don't think there is really anything that needs to be done, I'm certain she has enough fuel to get us to Nevarro and I can fill up there before I head back here," He nodded his head and looked out a nearby window that faced my home.

"I wanted to speak to you more, privately, about what you said yesterday," he began, "I truly am sorry for what my actions brought upon your family, I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt, but what the Empire had was something special, a child, and they planned to do horrible things to him," For a second, I thought about my dream last night, but I quickly put it behind me.

"I understand, you're doing this for your family, just help get me to my hometown and we'll be even," He hesitated a minute before nodding his head and walking out. I followed behind momentarily and returned to my home, but this time Fennec and Fett were awake. I grabbed my traveling satchel and slid on my boots and jacket before heading to the mirror to assess my hair. I undid the messy braid and let my hair flow down to my shoulder blades. Through the reflection, I could see the Mandalorian staring at me.

We loaded onto the ship, Boba and Fennec moved to the front chamber where the pilot and co-pilot sit, and I followed behind.

"Have you flown something like this?" I questioned. The older man let out a brief chuckle.

"Knowing how to fly different ships is something I was extensively trained in." For some reason, his response embarrassed me. I turned around and moved down a small corridor before finding the small room where passengers sit. Aboard my quaint ship were two main rooms, the piloting room, and this room, along with two small sleeping cabins. I sat in silence looking out of the window at the land ahead of me. I heard the sound of steps behind me. I swiveled my chair around to see the Mandalorian standing in the doorway.

"Mind if I sit with you?" he asked. I shook my head and motioned my hand towards a nearby seat.

"Be my guest," he quickly paced to the seat just one over from mine and looked out the window with me. "Is there some sort of nickname I can call you? Saying 'The Mandalorian' in my head every time I think of you is getting annoying." The rapid movement of his chest plate let me know he was breathing erratically; was he laughing?

"How often do you think of me that that has become such an issue?" he questioned. I felt the heat move towards my face. I probably should have thought that question through. I turned my chair back to face the window. "Most people call me Mando," he followed up. I nodded my head to let him know that I heard him.

"We have just over enough fuel to get to Nevarro," I heard Fennec call out, "We'll be taking off any minute now." Mando and I sat in silence looking out the window before he asked me about my family and why I moved here. We spent most of the trip talking about our past and what we're hoping for in the future. He told me about his friend, Grogu, and how he is actually more like his son. Eventually, we got tired of chatting, and both resorted to silence and watching the stars outside.

___________________

We arrived at the planet Nevarro not too long after Mando and I have finished our conversation, thank you hyperspace. I stood up and stretched my arms above my head and looked over to see him still sitting in his seat, arms crossed. I walked over towards him and stood just before him and I looked him up and down, that armor can't be comfortable.

"It isn't comfortable, but it isn't uncomfortable," I heard from behind the mask, "it is heavy." My eyes widened as I realize my remark was not said in my head, but out loud. I turned on my heel and headed to the entry ramp, waiting for the others to follow behind. As the door lowered, I saw an unfamiliar Nevarro City. The entire planet of Nevarro was drab and sad, that's what living on a rock covered in lava rivers and dust does to the people. But this place was different. The people were lively and chattering, the streets crowded with people, and most importantly, there didn't appear to be any Empire influence.

It was getting dark outside as we arrived. Mando walked ahead of me towards the city. I looked back at Fennec and Boba to see if they planned on following. They both declined and said it would be better if they stayed back. I looked ahead and saw Mando a decent way ahead of me and quickly jogged to catch up. I quickly walked beside him, which felt more like a jog itself as I am 5'5 and he is at least 6'. We traveled towards a building in the back of town, what I assumed was a town hall. When we entered the building Mando was greeted by a strong-looking woman, she had the same build as me but much more muscle. She glanced over at her and gave a shy smile. She walked over to a desk and sat as Mando picked up a badge on her desk.

"Cara Dune, Marshall of the New Republic, I heard rumors you might have gone legit,"

She responded with a warm smile, "I wouldn't go that far,"

"I need your help," Mando replied.

"Name it,"

"I need you to locate someone in the prison registry,"

"I'll see what I can do,"

"Ex-Imperial sharpshooter, last name Mayfeld," the woman nodded as she clicked buttons on a machine in front of her, "Apprehended near the Dilestri system on a derelict prison ship."

"Migs Mayfeld, serving 50 years in the Karthon Chop Fields for springing a prisoner himself. Accessory to the death of a New Republic officer. Sounds like a real piece of work. What do you want with him?"

At this point I had zoned out, looking around the building as the two of them carried on with their conversation. I drifted over to a nearby window and peered outside at the busy street. I was taking in the sites of this cute city when I made eye contact with a man I'd never seen before.

"Eliana?" he called, "Eliana Hejran?" I turned and looked over my shoulder, why was this man calling my mother's name? He rushed towards the building as I stared at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry I'm not Eliana, I'm Sindre her daughter, my mother is dead," I told the man.

"I knew your parents, Eliana and Myn Hejran. I never knew they had a daughter," he looked me up and down, "My apologies, my name is Greef Karga," he continued, "You look so much like your mother, I thought they had been released." I could chill went through my body.

"What... what do you mean by release? My mother and father were killed by stormtroopers," I stated. He glanced over at the woman at the desk and back at me.

"Your father was a pilot, correct," I nodded my head, "then there's a good chance the Empire kidnapped your parents and forced them to work on their side." A ball formed in my throat at the thought of my parents working for the Empire.

"You're lying," I accused, "they wouldn't do that, they couldn't." At this point, I had so many feelings raging inside of me. I brought my hands to my face as I considered my options. I either discover that my parents are now working for the Empire, or I accept the fact that they're dead. "Where can I find out if they're alive?"

The woman at the desk responded, "I can put their names in my system here, if they've been traced back to the Empire in any way, they'll be here." I anxiously rub my hands together before nodding my head and walking over to her.

"Last name Hejran, H-E-J-R-A-N, Eliana and Myn," I wasn't expecting to get a result, my parents are dead, they have to be.

"Yes, right here Myn Hejran, piloting for the Empire, last sighted 2 weeks ago." My breath hitched in my throat as my body started going numb. My parents are alive, and I can possibly save them.


	3. III

Mando, Cara, and I traveled back to my ship. Cara and Mando talked about what the next steps were in their plan to get back Grogu I stayed silent behind them as I thought about what action I would take next. We walked up the ramp and headed for the piloting room, where Fennec and Fett were talking. They looked over at us with questioning eyes, probably because we were back so soon. I took a deep breath.

"My parents are alive and being forced to work for the Empire." The two of them shared a look before looking back at me. Fennec had a look of pity on her face, I must have looked drain. At this point, it was late, and my body and mind were exhausted. I sighed and ran a hand down my face. "I'm going to go lay day in one of the sleep chambers," I turned and walked out of the still room. I walked down the hall and pressed the button to open the door of the far chamber. I stepped in and took off my jacket and boots before laying down and letting out a loud sigh. I had tears welling up into my eyes threatening to slide down my face. I turned on my side and faced the wall. I felt numb inside like emotions weren't an option. I could feel sobs crawling up my throat and instead of fighting them, I just let them escape. I sat there for half an hour in the room. The strips of light across the ceiling emitted a dim blue color. I was almost asleep when I heard the door slide open. I squinted my eyes and faintly saw the reflection of armor, Mando. I pretended to be asleep so I could avoid any conversation right now. I heard him let out a sigh before lifting the sheets over my shoulder.

"We'll figure this out Sindre, I promise," he whispered. I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. He sat beside me in the queen-sized bed with his arms crossed over his chest. I turned around to face him.

"Mando?" I called out. I heard him shift.

"Yea?"

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"Cara and Fennec took the other chamber and Fett is staying in the pit," he said, "I also just wanted to make sure you're okay." I felt a slight smile form on my face, chivalry isn't dead.

"Mando, I don't want to go home, I want to stay with you and the others, I want to find my parents," I said softly. He sat quietly for a minute.

"I suspected you would, we're heading for the chop fields now."

I nodded my head. I started to drift off, this time thinking about what it will be like when I'm reunited with my family.

___________________

I was flooded with dreams again the same as last night's. This time I wasn't alone. I was still small, very small, but I was being held. The images were still blurry, but I could make out shapes and colors. I heard a woman humming a tune, a familiar tune. The vision drifted to her, a pale woman, long brown hair pulled back partially, a faint smile on her face; she reminded me of my mother. The eyelids blinked heavily as I grew tired, but they shot open at the sound of a door slamming open. Two stormtroopers walked in, "Prisoner 3896, Eliana Hejran." She set me down on a small bench and she shook her head a screamed. She was prodded with a long rode that looked electrified. She screamed as a watched, trying to reach out and help but I couldn't, her limp body was dragged out of the room, and the door shut, leaving me in complete darkness.

I shot up in bed screaming at the top of my lungs thrashing my arms and legs. I felt a cold set of arms wrap around me tightly.

"Sindre! Sindre! Hey, you're okay, you're safe okay I'm here, it's me calm down," I heard Mando's modulated voice beside me. I looked around and realized that I was indeed in the sleeping cabin of my ship. I wiped the hair and sweat off of my face. Mando pulled back from me and stepped out of bed, "It's morning, we should be landing at the Karthon chop fields any minute, I'm going to go check on Fett," he pressed the button to unlock the doors and walked out. I sat there with my head in my hands, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I stood up off the bed, my bare feet hitting the cold floor. I slid my jacket over my shoulders and pulled on my socks and boots. My clothes were getting old and tattered. I pulled my hair out of my jacket and tied it in a low bun. I walked out of the room and saw the others standing at the ramp. Their gazes glanced over to me and I returned them with a soft smile. I walked over to the lounge and looked out the window, behind me I heard someone walk in, footsteps too light to be Mando.

"Are you okay?" Fennec asked me. I turned around a shrugged.

"I will be. It all depends on if we get them back or not," she walked forward and wrapped her arms around me. She didn't seem like one to enjoy affection, but something told me she understands what I'm feeling. I followed her out of the room back to the others, this time, the ramp was lowered, and Cara was gone.

"She went to take Mayfeld into her custody," Mando explained. I nodded my head and peered around the corner to see Fett in the pit cleaning up his armor and Fennec alongside him cleaning her rifle. I walked over to one of the cabinets on the ship. Inside were some canteens of water and packaged foods. I pulled out one canteen and some sort of crackers and walked over to him. He was leaning against the wall and sat on the floor beside him.

"There is a lounge on board, you can go sit there," he said.

"I know, but I wanted to make sure you would eat and drink something before today," I replied as I held out the bag of crackers. He hesitated before putting his hand out to accept them. I kept my eyes facing the floor to make sure I wasn't invading his privacy. I heard the click of his mask unlocking followed by the crunch of the crackers. I turned around so I could lift my head to drink.

"It's okay to sit normally, I can eat without showing my face," I blushed as I looked up at him.

"Sorry, I just didn't want to invade your privacy," his helmet tilted to the side.

"You are one of the only people I have met that has been so conscious about the creed."

"Well, I've never really met any Mandalorians before you, I just know from the things I read," I said, "I know that there are some who are okay with removing their helmet and some that won't, and from the way you didn't eat the first night, I assumed you don't," his head straightened, and he stood there quietly. I stood up and offered him the water canteen before walking back to put the crackers in the cabinet. I took back the now empty canteen and placed it in a bag, so I remember to refill it. Boba walked out of the pit with his painted armor and Fennec followed. They both stepped out on the ramp as Cara approached, beside her, a bald man. Mando stood in front of me at the top of the ramp.

The man, who I assumed was Mayfeld, faltered for a moment when he saw Boba but quickly recovered and said, "You know for a second, I thought you were this other guy." Mando walked down the ramp and the grin fell off of Mayfeld's face; I'm guessing Mando is the "other guy".

"Mayfeld."

"Hey, Mando," he replied shyly, "long time." He looked between the four standing down there. "So, what you came here to kill me?"

"All you need to know is I bent a lot of rules to bring you along," Cara stated.

"Why am I so lucky?" he questioned.

"Because you're Imperial," he shook his head.

"Hey, that was a long time ago, all right?"

"But you still know your Imperial clearances and protocols, don't you?" He stood quietly, signaling to us that he still did. The four walked back of the ramp, followed by Mayfeld. As he passed me, he looked me up and down giving me a confused look. I know that a weak girl like myself doesn't belong in a group of badasses, but he didn't need to point it out. Cara, Fennec, Mayfeld, and Mando all sat in the lounge room discussing what needs to happen next. I went back into my sleep chamber and sat on the bed and looked out the window above it. The bed was wall to wall with only a foot-long gap between the door. The bright white sheets were comforting. Eventually, we took off as I saw the ship hover above the ground. Before I knew it, we were moving through the stars.

"Sindre?" I heard from down the hall.

"I'm in the bedroom," I called back. Mando turned the corner and stood in the doorway.

"I need to ask you a favor," he began, "We have to travel to the planet of Morak, there's an Imperial mining hub there with an internal Imperial terminal, that's the only way for us to get Moff Gideon's coordinates." I nodded along as he spoke, not really understanding what he was saying, but getting the gist of it. "We're going to sneak Mayfeld in while Cara and Fennec act as our shooters."

"Where do I come in with all of this?" I questioned.

"Look, I have a history with Mayfeld, I don't know is I trust him completely, so while sneaking him in, I'm going to put a com in his uniform, I need you to sit and monitor it to make sure he doesn't go off the rails."

"That doesn't sound like too bad of a job," I shrugged. I could stay with Cara and Fennec to make sure nothing happened to me while also being able to report to them what was happening. "How long will it be until we get there?" I asked.

"About an hour," I looked at him for a moment with a light smile.

"Well then I have a favor to ask of you," his head tilted slightly, "tell me about yourself."

"I already did, I'm a bounty hunter, it's what I've been for years. I met Grogu and-," I shook my head

"No, not that part, tell me about your childhood, growing up to be a Mandalorian, those things," He crossed his arms, and I could tell that under that helmet he was giving me a ridiculous look. "Please?" I asked with a smile. He sighed and sat beside and kicked his legs up onto the bed, crossing them at his ankles.

"Ask away." I had a huge grin on my face as wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and got comfortable.

"Where you born on Mandalore?" He shook.

"How did you become a Mandalorian then?"

"My parents were killed during an attack by battle droids, the Mandalorians that defended our city adopted me as a foundling and trained me as their own." He has felt the pain of losing parents to I thought.

"I'm sorry for your loss, I understand that feeling." He nodded.

"It was a long time ago, a distant memory, next question?" I could tell he was lying; it wasn't a distant memory; it was something he thought of every day.

"What really is a Mandalorian?"

"It's what people from the plant of Mandalore are called, it's their ethnicity. I'm one because I was raised by them as a foundling. Mandalorians have a strong warrior tradition. When we become of age, we take a creed, swearing ourselves to the Mandalorian ways."

"And not removing your helmet is part of that creed?" He sighed.

"Yes, well, I can't show my face to any living thing. If I do, I can never put the helmet back on, and I forfeit my family."

"But there are some who do remove their helmets," he nodded.

"There are two kinds of Mandalorian, those who believe in the traditions such as not removing the helmet, and those who think the traditions are out of date," he explained, "I was taught that showing my face is taboo, so that has become part of my religion." I smiled. "Any more questions?" I sat for a second thinking about anything else I wanted to know as this could be my only chance to get in his head.

"What's your real name?" he looked up at me, head tilted slightly. "You have to have one, a real one, everyone does." I was interrupted by Fett calling out that everyone needed to meet in the lounge. Mando stepped off the bed and walked away. I jumped out following him

"Mando, hold on, please," I reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him from stepping any further. He spun around and looked at me. He stared at me for a minute before checking if others were around.

"My name is Din, Din Djarin. The only other person on board that knows my name is Cara, and that's how I plan on keeping it," he said lowly. He spun around and walked to the lounge. I stood there in shock for a moment; not at the fact that he told me his name, but at the fact that I reached out and grabbed his arm like it was no big deal. We had only known each other for about a week at this point, so how I was so comfortable around him? I gathered my bearings and walked to the lounge myself, if I was going to be a part of this mission, I should at least hear what they're talking about. I walked in and saw Fett standing in front of a screen showing an outline of the refinery. From the look on Mayfeld's face compared to the others, I can tell he just tried to crack some bad joke as he had a beaming grin and the others looked at him annoyed. The smile quickly fell off his face.

"They have anti-aircraft cannons protecting it," Boba explained.

"And a platoon of security forces," Fennec finished.

"So, we go in quiet," Mando stated, "Let's go get a better look."


	4. IV

We landed on the planet of Morak shortly after. We landed far enough away from the refinery that we wouldn't be detected but we made sure to land close to a traveling path to gain access. We walked down the ramp and traveled through the thick forest before coming out on a small landing above a cleared pathway. I delivery truck was coming through and the others discussed the plan on how to get in.

"I'm not gonna need long inside," Mayfeld said, "So once I get the coordinates, you guys gotta get me the hell out of there."

"You get to the roof. I'll drop in and pull you out," Fett replied.

"Alright. Mayfeld and I will swap for the drivers in the tunnel."

Mayfeld laughed at Cara's idea, "As much as I'd like to take a road trip with Rebel- dropper here, that's not gonna work."

"Oh yeah, Why's that?" She questioned. He looked back at her.

"well because these Remnant bases are set up and run by ex-ISB. If you get scanned and your genetic signature shows up on any New Republic register, you're gonna be detected, and it's guns out."

"You sure do know a lot about Imperial Remnants," Cara replied snidely.

"If you wanna accuse me of something, then just say it." Mando interrupted before the argument could escalate.

"We don't have time. Fennec will go."

"No, I'm wanted by the ISB. I'll trip the alarm too," she replied. I heard Mando sigh as he looked back at Boba.

"Fett?" He asked. Boba's held tilted to face him.

"Let's just say they might recognize my face."

Mayfeld threw his hands into the air, "Great, so it's me goin' in alone." Cara interjected.

"No way, the minute he gets inside he'll tip them off. He'll be a hero." Mayfeld rolled his eyes.

"Hey, this wasn't my idea. I'm doing' you guys a favor." I saw Mando touching the side of his helmet.

Mayfeld and Cara continued to argue beside us. Mando shifted back and forth on his feet before speaking, "I'll go." Mayfeld snickered at that.

"Hey buddy, I might be good at fast-talking, but I don't think I can explain away a guy in a Mando suit to Imperial guards." He did have a point, unless Mando would be wearing another suit, he couldn't go in there. "So, unless you're gonna take off that helmet, it's gonna be me going in alone. Or say goodbye to you little green friend."

Mando's helmet tilted over to look at him, "You're not going alone, I'm coming with you and I won't be showing my face." Mayfeld gave him a look of confusion but disregarded his statement. Fett went back to the ship after handing Fennec a com mic to contact him. Fennec started to walk to an overhang on the other side of the tunnel. Cara and Mayfeld began to walk to the top of the tunnel. I began to follow her but Mando wrapped his hand around my arm and pulled me back. I gave him a questioning look.

"I'm going to put the mic in my helmet, okay?" I nodded. It would make more sense for him to have it because he wouldn't take his helmet off at any point. He put the com mic into my hand and squeezed it. I gave him a soft smile. I could tell he was a bit nervous and I wanted to reassure him. He walked past me to catch up to Cara and Mayfeld. I watched as he walked away and said a silent prayer to whatever power to keep him safe.

I went and met up with Fennec. At this point, I imagined they were in there switching out with the drivers. Fennec looked over at me as I intently stared at the end of the tunnel.

"Okay, what is going on between you two?" she questioned. I looked over at her.

'Who, Mando?" I asked wide-eyed. Her right eyebrow arched as she looked me up and down.

"Yes Mando, you two are always together talking wherever we go. You shared a room last night this past week has been you two together constantly," she pointed out. I could feel my cheeks growing warm as I swallowed the ball forming in my throat.

"I'm... just trying to gain his trust, I want to be... friends," I sputtered out. She gave me a knowing look; she didn't believe me. I turned away and looked back over at the tunnel. I could see her looking at me from the corner of my eye. She turned back and faced the tunnel shaking her head. I let out a loud sigh.

"Okay, I think he's attractive. He's strong, tall, has a smooth voice, and cares about his child; he's a total enigma, everyone would have a crush on him," She smirked.

"I don't. Cara doesn't. I don't think Boba does." I bit my cheek and rubbed my eyes. When I opened them, the carrier was pulling through. Fennec put the scope of her rifle to her eye as she zoomed in. She pulled the com mic up to her mouth.

"Phase one, complete. We're in." I heard Boba respond back to her. Cara was coming up the side of the hill as Fennec and I were traveling down to a path that was hopefully lead us to the refinery. I could hear murmuring through the earpiece I had put it, most likely Mayfeld complaining.

"Don't worry about the Rhydonium," I heard through my earpiece, "As long as you drive steady, you'll get us to the refinery." Was something happening? The three of us walked on a straight path towards the refinery, but I could hear the static of the com going in and out, they were traveling on a curved path.

"I'm going to go down the hill a bit to get a better view of where the refinery is," Fennec nodded and handed me a blaster she had strapped to her hip.

"Be safe." I nodded my head and split off from the two. I walked down until I was stopped by a rushing waterway. My eyes followed the water up to a large building in the distance. I could hear sounds coming through the com now, but they didn't sound promising.

"Pirates, Keep driving. I'll take care of it," Mando said. They were under attack. I ran alongside the water to get closer to the building, keeping the blaster in my hand ready just in case I ran into anyone. I could hear Mayfeld yelling over the sound of a blaster firing.

"They have thermal detonators. Just keep it steady," I heard a door creak open and huffing. I was still far enough away from the building to not have to worry about detection, so I stopped for a minute to listen for any indicators that Mayfeld was the one causing the problems. I heard a loud explosion and my heart stopped for a second hoping Mando's voice would break the silence.

"They're trying to blow the Rhydonium." I let out the breath I was holding. Mayfeld wasn't the one making trouble, they were being attacked by outsiders. The sound was going in and out as they were nearing the building; I need to get closer. I ran quickly, stumbling over the rocks and falling branches, trying my best not to fall into the rapid waters. I looked above me and saw tie fighters flying out of the building. Oh no. The sound was coming back into my earpiece, but it wasn't words, it was Mando's labored breaths and grunts. I stopped in my tracks as my eyes got wide and my cheeks flushed.

"Not time to think about that Sindre," I muttered to myself. I pulled the earpiece out for a second as he adjusted his breathing back to normal. When I put it back in, I could hear cheering, they were in.

"Okay, all we gotta do is find a terminal," I heard Mayfeld say. He must have been standing close enough to Mando to pick up what he was saying. "It's probably in the officers' mess." I heard more cheering and shouting around them. "There it is," he said.

Mando responded, "Good luck." There was quiet for a moment before I heard a quiet "we're in" from Mando. Mayfeld must have walked away. I stood at the base of the refinery looking at the large building in front of me and the water falling out of it.

"I can't go in there,"

"Why not?" Mando asked.

"That's Valin Hess,"

"Who?"

"Valin Hess. I used to serve under him," Mayfeld explained.

"Will he recognize you?"

"I don't know. I was just a field operative but I'm not taking the chance. It's over."

"Let's just do this quick and we can get out of here."

"I can't do it, okay? We have to abort, I'm sorry."

"No, I can't" There was interference ringing through my earpiece, and I had to take it out for a moment before putting it in and hearing Mayfeld talk.

"In order to access the network, the terminal has to scan your face." I took in a sharp breath. That's going to put a damper on the whole plan.

"Give it to me," I heard Mando reply. I was shocked, was Mando really going to take off his helmet? I could clearly hear his heavy footsteps and eradicate breathing. I heard the clicking of keys followed by a robotic voice.

"Error, Error. Facial scan incomplete. Ten seconds to system shutdown." I heard. Muffled noise before I could barely hear anything. He took off his helmet. I could barely hear any sounds let alone make out clear words, so when I heard a male voice call out "Trooper" I knew he was in trouble. I stood just below the refinery breathing heavily, worried about what would happen in there. I heard more mumbling between the unknown voice and Mando before I heard a third familiar voice interject; Mayfeld.

"This is my com-...officer...TK- 593," I heard through the static, "I'm Imperial.... Assault Transport... TK-111." Good cover Mayfeld. "You'll have to speak up...vessel lost pressure in Taanab."

"What's your name officer?" I heard loudly. No response.

Mayfeld replied for him. "We just... him Brown Eyes... that right Officer?" That confirmed my suspicion that Mando's helmet was off and that he broke his creed. I felt bad for him. He forfeit the only thing he knew, his identity, to save his kid. It just showed how much he loved him. I heard more muffled talking and moving but at this point, the helmet was too far away to make out any words. I stood there watching the building and biting my fingernails worried for their safety. I heard the scrape of metal; the helmet was sat down on something close to them and I could make out their speaking perfectly.

"So, what shall we toast to, boys? I can blather on 'to health' or 'to success, but I'd like to do something a little less rote," I heard the unknown voice say. "Where are you from brown eyes?"

"How about a toast to Operation Cinder?" Mayfeld interjected.

"Now there's a man who knows his history."

"No, I don't just know it. I lived it. I was in Burnin Konn."

"Burnin Konn? That was a hard day. I had to make many unpleasant decisions." I stood there listening to Mayfeld's banter with this commander. He was making things personal and I could sense that they were going to go south quickly. I listened back in, Mayfeld's voice sounding distraught. There was a moment of silence before I could hear a blaster go off, then another, and another. I stood there in shock; had they been discovered? Moments later the siding of part of the building flew off and into the water beside me. I watched as the two men crawled out and scaled the building. I did my best aiming at the troopers that were following them out, hitting some.

"Get out of here!" I heard Mando yell. I pulled my mic up to my mouth.

"No, I'm staying down here until the ship picks you up. So, get the hell up there." I heard Mando mutter something, probably cursing me out, but I couldn't live with myself if something happened to him that I could've prevented. Cara and Fennec were picking the soldiers off the top of the building. I watched as two men fell from the edge into the water beside me. As more followed them out, I tried to get closer, but misstepped and fell into the water. One thing about living on a rock of a planet. I never learned how to swim. I let out a scream, something I probably shouldn't have done, as I got sucked in the water. It was much deeper than I expected, but then again, it was a dam. It was cold, which made it harder for me to find the will to fight going under. My head popped up to my ship fly overhead, and Mayfeld and Mando no longer on the edge. I suspected that this is where I die. While it's an anticlimactic death, it could be peaceful if I just gave in. I opened my eyes and looked at the water above me as the bubbles floated out of my nose. I closed my eyes and let myself fall as I ran out of breath. I was seconds away from giving in before I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and pull me out. I was being carried bridal style up the small mountain. I was tired, my eyes were heavy, my body was freezing. I wanted to fight it but the noise around me disappeared as I fell into complete darkness.

___________________

I opened my heavy eyelids to find myself in my sleep cabin. I looked around as I took in everything that has happened. I lifted the sheets to find myself stripped to my undergarments. My damp clothes hung on a pole over the doorway. I pulled them off and stood in the small space between the door, trying to pull the still slightly damp clothes onto my body. My hair was damp, and my entire body was freezing. I walked out of the room shivering. The hallways were empty. I walked towards the lounge, from which, I heard Mando giving a speech. I waited outside until I knew he was finished before walking in. He spun around.

"Sindre, you're awake!" I gave him a soft smile as I sat on one of the chairs and pulled my knees to my chest. I heard him unclip something before I felt a soft weight placed around me, his cloak. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but he was already asking one when I was starting to speak.

"Are you okay?" I nodded my head.

"Yea, not perfect, but at least I'm still here." I paused for a moment and looked out the large window. "Did you..." I began.

"No, Mayfeld did. Armor makes it impossible to swim," he explained. Maybe that guy wasn't too bad.

"Where is he at?" I asked.

"Cara and I decided to let him go. As far as we know, Mayfeld died in the explosion," I gave him a questioning look. "He shot at exposed Rhydonium as we flew off. The whole place exploded." I smiled.

"That was pretty okay of him."

"Yeah, yeah it was." We sat together in silence. Looking out the window. I didn't know whether or not to ask him about what happened. I didn't want to invade, but I was too involved to not know.

"So Mayfeld couldn't get the coordinates?" I asked. He hesitated for a moment.

"No, he couldn't, but I did," he replied. I nodded my head.

"You did what you had to do to save your kid," I said, "I'm sure your fellow Mandalorians would understand." He nodded his head. "I can tell he means a lot to you Mando." He looked over at me.

"Yeah, he really does." He sat there flipping a metal stick between his fingers.

"Do you know what time it would be?"

"It was afternoon in Morak when we left about two hours ago." I stood from my spot and looked at him as I held out my hand.

"Come on." He looked at my hand, and then up at me. I grabbed his forearm and pulled him behind me as his cloak dragged on the floor. My bare feet made I light tapping noise on the hard floor. I led him over to the kitchenette. I pulled myself up onto the counter and shuffled through the bag. I found a bag of dried fruit and a container of broth. I turned on the small burner and split the broth into two bowls and set them over the small open flame to warm up. I pulled out a new canteen of water and two cups. I split the water between the cups and opened the bag of dried fruit. Mando stood behind me and watched. I turned around and smiled at him.

"Food always makes me feel good. I can tell you don't feel good, I want you to know it's okay to not feel good all the time." I handed him a cup of water and a bowl of broth. He looked down at his hands then back up at me.

"Thank you." He sounded choked up in a way. I wonder how long it's been since someone has cared for him this way.

"Of course, Mando," I replied softly as I grabbed my own bowl and cup. "Do you want to eat alone or with me?" he stood there quietly. I knew that he wanted to eat alone, he just didn't want to be rude. I handed him the bag of dried fruit. "I'll be in the lounge if you need anything." I walked back down the hall and turned back to see him standing in the middle of the hall looking at the food in his hands. I smiled and entered the room. We'll all be okay.


	5. V

I sat in the lounge and stared out the window for what felt like forever. I started to doze off as I watched the stars fly past us. I curled into a ball, pull Mando's cloak around me tightly. I didn't want to sleep in here tonight, but if Mando needed time alone, I'm willing to. My breathing got heavy as my buddy sunk into the chair.

I had a dream again. The same one I've been having. The dreams felt cold and almost damp. Heavy and sad. I felt sad for the people in my dreams. Everything was bland and tasteless. I was walking down a hallway. I was at a normal height, so I don't think I was the kid. I turned a corner and walked to a closed door. A Stormtrooper pressed some buttons on a panel behind him and the door opened, inside, was a small, green fellow. He looked up, fear in his eyes, but soon relaxed at the sight of me. The hands of the body I was in reached out to pick him up, on the left hand a ring I recognized, my mother's wedding band.

I shot up from my spot and took in a sharp gasp. The room was dark now, the only light being the stars flying past. I was sweating profusely, and I couldn't catch my breath. I looked around the room, I was still alone. I stood from my spot and grabbed my bowl and cup to walk them to the kitchenette. I shivered, not from cold, but from adrenaline. The floor was cold beneath my bare feet. I clutched Mando's cloak around me tightly with my free hand. I placed the bowl and cup in the basin and stood there. I felt sick to my stomach. I poured some of my left-over water into my cupped hands and splashed it on my face, hoping to calm down. I tried to close my eyes but each time I did the images of my dreams came flashing back. I sighed and shook my head to rid my thoughts of the images. I walked over to the closed door of my sleeping cabin. The door wasn't locked so it slid open upon my detection. Inside, Mando was playing with a small metal ball. He looked over at me and quickly put it away.

"It's okay, you don't have to hide it from me," I said. He put both of his hands in his lap.

"You look sick," he responded. I nodded my head and crawled into the bed to sit opposite him.

"Can we talk about something?" His head tilted slightly.

"What's it about?"

"Me... my dreams... I just, need to know if you can decipher these." He sat there staring at me.

"Go on."

"They all started when news of my parent's death got to me, I assume that would be the same time you took back the asset you owed the Empire?" He nodded.

"So, if my parents aren't dead, I think the latter might have triggered something within me," I began, "Since then, I've had these bizarre dreams. Flashing lights, strange animals, flames, metal armor."

"They could be a coincidence," he suggested.

"That's exactly what I thought. Until recently, I've been having different dreams. Some of them from the point of view of a child in a cold brig or a woman's arms," I explained, "I thought that it was just my brain's way of trying to connect to my mother. But the dream I just woke up from... I think they mean more." His helmet tilted slightly. "I was a woman this time."

"How could you tell?" He questioned.

"From the beginning, my point of view was taller than a child, and I could see the dress she was wearing." He nodded again. "She was traveling through a cold, heartless building to a room guarded by two Stormtroopers when they opened the doors, there was a small green creature sitting on a bench." I watched as his posture adjusted, he was interested now. "Not only that but the hands that reached out to grab him, the left one wore my mother's marriage band." I paused and took a breath. "I think I've been watching the world happen through other people's eyes in my dreams." Mando was silent. "I sound crazy, don't I?" I laughed at myself.

"No, no... I think... I think you have some sort of gift," he started. I arched a brow at him. "My child... The child, Grogu, has some sort of powers. He can move things with his mind, like a Jedi."

"A Jedi?"

"They're people who can harness their abilities to do good. I was assigned the job to get him to the Jedi so they can teach him the same." I looked at the signet on his Pauldron then back at his helmet. "You could have a connection with him." I was taken aback by that statement. He reached for the ball he was playing with earlier and pulled it out from a small pocket beneath his armor. He played with it in the palm of his hand. "Can you describe him to me?"

"Um... he was a pale green... small, not much taller than your forearm," he nodded as I spoke, "he had long ears that stick out to the side and big brown eyes." He stopped playing with the ball and looked at me.

"That has to be Grogu on Gideon's ship," he said to me, "At least he's safe," He finished. We sat there in silence before he laid down in the bed. He groaned and grabbed his side.

"Are you okay?" He let out a labored breath.

"I'm not used to not wearing Beskar in a fight."

"Have you checked it to make sure nothing is wrong?" He shook his head.

"No mirrors." I pulled myself closer to him.

"Can I help?" He laid there and looked up at me before he started to unclip his armor from his chest and back, laying it at the head of the bed. I reached for the hem of his shirt and looked up at him to make sure it was okay. He nodded his head before laying it down on a pillow. I pulled the shirt up to expose his side. He had warm, bronze skin. The bruise on his ribs was almost black. I touched it gently and he flinched. I moved by hand around touching in different spots. They weren't nearly as tender as the first spot.

"I think you might have fractured a rib." His helmet tilted towards me. "There isn't anything we can really do, your Beskar should keep you protected when you're fighting."

"Thank you," he replied. He went to grab for his armor, but I grabbed his wrist. "I think you should consider sleeping without the chest plate on tonight, you need to try to breathe your full range to help it adjust. He gently pulled his wrist out of my grasp." He turned over to lay on his back, one hand tucked under his helmet, the other laying on top of his heart. I glanced over him as he got himself settled.

"Are you going to sleep?" I shook my head.

"I've had enough dreams for tonight." I scooted over to the window and looked out at the largeness of space. So many places for me to be and I just so happened to be in the perfect one. I glanced back at him, "Goodnight Mando," I called out.

"Goodnight Sindre." I smiled and rested my head against the glass. I pulled the fabric around me tighter before realizing it was still Mando's cloak" I pulled it off and folded it. I grabbed a pillow from beside me and held it to my chest, burying my head in the top and taking in a deep breath. I let tears slip out of my eyes. I felt helpless and weak. I cried quietly, not wanting to wake the man in front of me. I looked around the quiet room for something to do. I'm sure the others were asleep, so I didn't want to get up and bother them. On the bed beside Mando was the small ball he was playing with. I picked it up and looked over it. There was a small hole on the bottom; it looked like it twisted on to something. I placed the ball in the hand on his chest and squeezed his fingers around it. He was breathing heavily. Today's events must have really taken a toll on him. I went back to looking out the window, thinking about family and friends, life and death, dark and light; anything that came to mind, I argued in my head over. I'm certain hours had passed as the man in front of me started shifting around and waking up. I watched him squirm in the bed, it was funny watching someone so strong and bold struggle to sit up because the bed was too soft and sucked him in. I slid off the bed and opened the door. Right outside Fennec and Cara were having a serious conversation. They both looked over at me as I stood in the doorway. I stepped back into the room and closed the door. Good to know these rooms are so soundproof. I clicked the button to turn on the overhead lights. Mando was trying to snap his chest plate back in place but was struggling to reach some of the spots due to his hurt rib.

"Let me help," I offered. His hands let go of the armor as he looked at me. I tore a piece of the soft blanket off to put between his armor and the rib. I snapped the chest plate back onto the mechanism that held it in place. "Thank you for letting me help," I started, "And letting me get to know you." He stared at me for a second.

"You know what I tell you, and what I tell you is what you need to know." What the hell did that mean? He stood up off the bed and walked out of the room, rushing past Fennec and Cara. They both looked over at my confused face as I watched him walk away.

"He's in a bit of a mood I guess," I said shaking my head. I pulled my hair up and tied it in place with a string. I fixed up the bed and grabbed Mando's cloak off of it before walking towards the lounge. Inside, Cara and Fennec were sitting side by side, and Fett and Mando were talking in a corner. I felt a bit like an outsider at that moment. I walked over to Mando and set his cloak on his knee before walking to get water from the kitchenette. I was standing there sipping from my glass when I heard someone approach me. I looked over and saw Cara walking towards me. She placed an empty bowl in the basin and looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What's his issue?" I shook my head and frowned.

"I don't know. He slept heavy so maybe he had a dream about his kid?" She nodded her head and turned away. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"What was going on between you and Fennec this morning?" A smirk grew on her face as she arched an eyebrow. Her gaze shifted from the table up to me.

"Oh...uh... congrats?" She laughed and shook her head as she walked away. Other than the fact that one works for the Republic and the other works as a mercenary, they're pretty perfect for each other. Mando stepped out of the lounge and called down to us, "Meeting!" Cara turned back to look at me and motioned for me to join. I walked in behind her and took the seat beside Mando.

"We need to form a group, people who are trained fighters," he stated, "I know of two women, Mandalorians that saved my life once before," he finished. We nodded. "Their names are Bo-Katan and Koska. If we recruit them, I think we'll be unstoppable."

"We're traveling to the planet Lothal in the Outer Rim," Fett stated, "That's where we've traced them to."

The four others discussed their plans as I sat and listened. I wouldn't be much help anyway, so what good would it be for me to try and understand? I was brought out of my daydreams when Cara and Fennec stood up together along with Fett. The three of them walked out of the room leaving just Mando and me to talk. I leaned my head on my hand and stared at him. I couldn't tell if he was staring back but his helmet was facing my direction.

"We're traveling to Lothal."

"I heard," I replied. I continued watching him.

"We'll have just enough fuel to jump into hyperspace and refuel once we get there." I nodded my head.

"What are the odds we can get showers and new clothes while we're there?" I asked. He shrugged.

"The locals have to stay clean and clothed somehow, we'll find a place." He nodded and pursed my lips. I picked as the strings fraying off my shirt. My jacket was the only thing that didn't look like it would fall off of me at any second.

"Get ready to jump into Hyperspace," I heard Boba call through the open door. My body felt the force of inertia as we were pulled in. I watched the streaks of blue fly past us. I was on the verge of getting sick when we jumped out in front of a large planet.

"Lothal," Mando said.

"Looks sad," I replied. I saw him look towards me out of the corner of his eye. I sat back in my chair as we traveled towards the plant. We landed in an industrial-looking area. My hope for clothes and a shower faded when I saw that, but at least we were getting fuel. Mando and Fett walked off the exit ramp and headed towards a small village. I stepped off and followed their trail shortly after, I wandered around the buildings until I found one that looked like it had clothes. I walked inside and saw an old woman. She was small and frail. I looked around, trying to find plain clothes that would fit my figure. I found a size 10 pair of pants and a medium shirt, both were black, but the shirt had a decorative cut down the back. I found a small bralette that would fit my chest and tight shorts to wear under the pants. I walked towards the counter. The lady gave me a soft smile.

"it looks like you've been through a lot," she pointed out. I laughed.

"You wouldn't believe it." She looked at my tattered and dirty clothes.

"Take them dear," I looked at her confused.

"No, please I can pay." She shook her head.

"I know a strong woman fighting for the right side when I see one." She bagged the clothes for me and grabbed a pair of boots off the shelf and placed them in as well. I hesitated to grab the bag. I placed some credits on the counter before walking out with the clothing. I turned back and looked at her before leaving.

'Is there anywhere I could get a shower?" I asked.

"Down the street, turn into the alley. The third door down is a rather nice shower house. Tell them Samet sent you and they'll get you fixed up," she replied warmly. I nodded and walked out of the building. I hope that someday I can afford to be as caring as her. I found the building she was referring to. It wasn't luxurious, but I felt safe and there was warm water. I was led to a small stall that had an area for me to dress and undress and an area for me to shower. I was stripping myself of the worn clothing and tossing them on the floor when I heard a familiar voice down the hall. I sucked in a sharp breath once I realized who it was. Mando. I walked into the showering area as I heard him enter the stall beside me. I made sure not to make any noises that would identify that I was next door. I grabbed the soap from the bag they gave me. It smelled like roses. I heard the water turn on next door. I scrubbed myself hard, trying to get rid of the dirt and grime that had built up. I used the soap in my hair and scratched my scalp. There was an oil they had provided as well. I ran it through the ends of my hair and rubbed it into my damp skin. Beside me, I heard the clip of scissors. Was he giving himself a haircut?

I turned off my water and grabbed the towel. I dried my body and walked out into the dressing stall. I put on my undergarments and fresh clothes. They felt amazing against my clean skin. I twisted my wet hair into a bun and stuck a hairpin in to secure it. The boots the old lady had picked fit perfectly. She must have been doing her job for a while. I turned around and looked in the mirror. My mother's reflection stared back at me yet again. My cheeks were flushed from the hot water, but somehow, I looked healthier since I had left Tython. The shower beside me shut off. I stayed in my area until I was certain he had left. I gave myself one last look before leaving.I couldn't help but blush at my thoughts. The all-black look made me look tough, sexy even. I shook my head before gathering my old clothes to throw out. Sure enough, the trashcan had brown hair sitting on top. I stuffed my clothes in there before pulling my sleeves down my arm. I thanked the workers for their hospitality and walked back towards the ship. I still had Fennec's blaster strapped to my hip which wasn't benefiting the complex I had right now. I feel invincible at this moment, and I'm not going to let anyone tear that down.


	6. VI

I walked up the entry ramp to my ship was greeted by two guns pointing at my head. I slowly raised my hand and looked at Mando.

“Put your guns down, she’s with us.” The two women looked me up and down. The one on the right had short red hair and pale skin. The other had darker skin. She was beautiful, and if I wasn’t focused on someone else, I would go after her. They both wore the same armor.

“Sindre, this is Bo-Katan,” he motioned to the redhead, “And this is Koska.” I nodded towards Koska and looked over at Bo-Katan. I could basically hear her thoughts. ‘How could someone so weak be an asset to your cause?’ I shot her a knowing look before walking through the group to the lounge. I sat down in the far seat and looked out the window. After the droids had finished fueling the ship, we lifted off the ground and flew through the atmosphere. I was fiddling with Fennec’s blaster when the others walked in. I peered over my shoulder and watched them file in one by one taking seats. The others were talking strategy, but I imagine I would be left on the ship alongside Fett. We had tracked down the ship Dr. Pershing was traveling in. The plan was to invade and overtake that and stage an attack on it to land on Moff Gideon’s cruiser. Once the meeting looked like it had ended, I stood and walked out and headed towards the kitchenette. I was pouring myself a glass of water when I saw the man in armor walk towards me.

“I like your new look,” I heard him say. I turned around and sipped my water.

“What’s the deal with Bo-Katan?”

“She’s just a dry person. She’s after Gideon for the Dark Saber. I figured I help her get the saber; she helps me get the kid. It’s a win-win.”

“Why does she want the Saber so bad?”

“The person who wields it is the ruler of Mandalore. She wants to bring glory back to the planet.” I nodded as I finished my glass of water. I placed the empty cup in the basin and walked past him towards the sleep chamber. The door opened and I walked to the edge of the bed and fell backward. He walked in behind me. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion and propped my body up on my elbows.

“When we get to Gideon’s cruiser. I want you to come with me. I can fight while you protect the child.”

“What about my mother?”

“If she’s still on board, I’ll make sure we get her.” I nodded my head and laid down. He stood in the doorway in front of me.

“We’re going to confirm the location of Dr. Pershing’s ship. Once we take it over, you’ll join the rest of us, and Fett will take care of your ship.” I sat still in the bed with my eyes closed. Eventually, he got the clue and walked away, letting the door shut. I stared into the darkness of the room. I was so tired, but I couldn’t let myself sleep. I heard the sound of the blasters firing, we were shooting at something. I stood from the bed and walked towards the piloting room where Fett was seated.

“Lower your shields, disengage all transponders, prepare for boarding,” Fett said. I turned around and saw Mando and Cara getting situated and ready to board their ship. The ship started the rise and was briefly faced with another before we docked on their ship. Turned around the two were no longer in the hall. I could hear blasters firing and a yelp followed by Cara’s head popping up from the hole motioning for us to join them. I looked down at Fett he nodded at me. His hand reached up to pat my shoulder, he could tell I was nervous. I was the last person to board the ship, Bo-Katan and Koska were sitting in the piloting ship. Fennec and Cara stood behind them. Mando stood in the back and I took my place beside him. Sitting handcuffed in a chair was who I assume was Dr. Pershing. He looked nervous and overall… sweaty.

“This is Moff Gideon’s Imperial light cruiser,” Bo Katan began, “In the old days, it would carry a crew of several hundred. Now it operates with a tiny fraction of that.”

“Your assessment is misleading,” the nervous man said. Cara made a snide remark about his interjection. “This isn’t subterfuge. I assure you,” he continued, “There’s a garrison of dark troopers on board. They abducted the Child.”

“How many troopers do they have armed in those suits?” Mando asked. He was shifting in his place, he was scared.

“These are third-generation design. They are no longer suits. The human inside was the final weakness to be solved. They’re droids.” I could tell by the heavy atmosphere between the group that this wasn’t pleasant news. Mando glanced over at me and I tried to muster a smile to assure him, but the ball of nerves in my chest didn’t let that happen; I was going to be sick.

“Where are they bivouacked?” Fennec questioned. The man stood from his chair and stepped over to the hologram.

“They’re held in cold storage in this cargo bay. They draw too much power to be kept at ready”

“How long to power up?” She continued.

“A few minutes, perhaps,” he replied.

“Where’s the Child being held?” Mando asked as he stepped forward to the man.

“This is the brig. He’s being held here under armed guard.”

“Very well. We split into two parties,” Bo-Katan offered.

“Sindre and I go together,” Mando interjected.

“Fine,” she said through gritted teeth. She really didn’t like me. “Phase one, Lambda shuttle issue a distress call. Two, we emergency land at the mouth of the fighter launch tube, cutting off any potential interceptors. Koska, Fennec, Dune, and myself disembark with maximum initiative. Once we’ve neutralized the launch bay, we make our way through these tandem decks in a penetration maneuver.” I stared at the back of her head in amazement.

“And us?” Mando asked.

“We’ll be misdirection. Once we draw a crowd, you slip through the shadows, get the kid.”

“Those dark troopers are gonna be a real skank in the scud pie,” Cara joked. I laughed but quickly stopped when I realized I was the only one.

“There bay is on the way to the brig,” Bo-Katan pointed out. “Can he make it there before they deploy?”

“It’s possible,” Dr. Pershing replied. Fennec reached the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a silver stick.

“Here. Take his code cylinder and seal off their holding bay,” she said while handing the object to Mando. “Anyone else, we can handle.”

“We’ll meet at the bridge,” Mando finished. Cara called up to Fett to disembark and prepare to enter hyperspace. The six of us on the Imperial ship got ourselves situated for the fake attack we had planned. I was in the back corner watching the rest of them talk. I was nervous; I haven’t ever done anything like this before. I grabbed the blaster on my hip. I pulled out the cartridge to see that it was almost out.

“Dank Farrik.” The nearly empty cartridge fell out of my shaking hands. As I was reaching down to grab it, I felt a hand grab my wrist. I looked up to see Mando unhooking a fresh cartridge from his belt. I gave him a brief smile before loading my blaster and holstering it. The ship pulled into hyperspace and the jolt sent me rocking backward. I reached out to grab the nearest stationary object which just so happened to be Cara; in moments like these, I’m so glad she strong. I felt my cheeks burn as the others looked back at the ruckus.

“Moff Gideon is mine,” Bo-Katan stated, “Got it?”

“He’s ex-ISB. He’s got a lot of information. I need him alive.” Bo-Katan turned her head away from Cara and looked out at the flashing streaks of blue ahead of us.

“I don’t care what happens to him as long as he surrenders to me.”

“Prepare to exit jump space,” I heard through the com.

“Copy that,” Bo-Katan responded, “Get the hell out of there as soon as they clear us to dock, and your shots have to look convincing.”

“Power up those shields princess, I’ll put on a good show.” Something felt extremely off about hearing him say that but none of the others seemed bothered, so I brushed it off.

I looked over at Mando as Fett and Bo-Katan continued to talk. His fingers were fidgeting at his side. I noticed that his helmet turned towards me; I had been caught. The streaks of flashing light stopped bouncing off of his helmet. I looked forward and saw that we were no longer in hyperspace. The beams from our ship shot past the one we were in. Koska was doing her best to evade them

“This is Lambda shuttle 2743. Requesting emergency docking. Repeat, requesting emergency docking,” Bo-Katan said through the com. Her voice was shaky and sounded concerned; she was a great actress. I heard a woman’s voice respond through the com. The look of concern between Koska and Bo-Katan let me know that her response was not favorable. Looking ahead, I saw the Tie fighters launching from the center of the ship. We nearly collided with one as we were speeding toward the launch tube. I could hear the same woman yelling through the com.

“Negative! Negative! We are under attack!” Bo-Katan responded to her. Red and Green beams of light flashed past us as we got closer to the ship. I glanced over to Mando and sucked in a sharp breath. We just barely fit between the walls; sparks shot from the impact of the metal on the rock floor. The other woman on the ship walked towards the exit ramp, preparing to attack anyone outside. I saw smoke as the ramp lowered, followed shortly by the sound of blasters firing and bodies hitting the floor. I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. We waited a moment before he started towards the ramp, his blaster at the ready. I followed after him, making sure not to fall behind. We quickly and quietly walked through the hallways trying to find the room the dark troopers were stored in. Stormtroopers were running through the hallways, alarmed by the invaders onboard. We turned the corner of the hallways the cold storage was on.

“Stay here and watch for anyone,” Mando said. I nodded and stood at the corner. He jogged towards the panel. “No. No!” I heard him yell. I peeked around the corner and saw him put the silver cylinder in the panel and click a button. The partially opened doors began to close. He fired a few shots between the crack. He looked over at me for a moment and nodded, only to be hit in the face by a dark trooper that slipped through the doors. I turned back around the corner and held my breath. I could hear the sounds of metal hitting metal; I watched as his body went sliding across the floor beside me. I peeked around the corner as the dark trooper was pre-occupied pummeling Mando. I sprinted past them towards the panel and pulled down the lever. The remaining dark troopers were sucked out of the room. I could hear the sound of hard footsteps and turned around to see the dark trooper coming towards me. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact of its fist. The sound of sparks and a heavy body hitting the floor made me open my eyes; Mando’s spear was in the neck of the dark trooper.

“Thank you,” we said simultaneously. He was breathing heavily, and I was barely breathing at all. He pulled his spear from the dark trooper’s body and swung it around to his back.

“Now what?”

“We find my kid”,” he replied. We started down the hallway together, traveling through the maze of hallways until we found a hallway with two troopers standing in front of a large door. Mando ran towards them and I stood behind him. Aiming at the far trooper, I shot him, knocking him to the ground. Mando had his spear wrapped around the neck of the other, lifting him off the ground; I heard a snap as his neck broke and he fell to the ground. I swallowed the lump in my throat; why was that attractive? I stood at the end of the hall watching for anyone else. I heard Mando open the doors to the brig.

There was another person in there, a man, most likely Moff Gideon. I could hear them talking from where I was standing. Discussion about Grogu, the Dark Saber, and Bo-Katan. There was quiet for a moment, followed by the sound of crashing. Mando backed out of the room, guarding himself with his arms. I hid behind the corner; I was no help if Gideon knew I was there. I could hear the sound of the Darksaber and Mando’s spear hitting each other. My body was positioned in a way that allowed me to peek around the corner without fully exposing myself. I heard a loud thump and looked to see Mando’s body on the floor, his spear at Gideon’s throat and the Darksaber at his; they were at a standstill. I turned the corner quietly and snuck up behind Moff Gideon. I put my blaster to the back of his head and kicked the back of his knees. He was unsuspecting of a third party getting involved. His body fell to the ground; shouldn’t have locked his knees. The saber fell out of his hand and slid across the floor; my blaster was pointed directly at his forehead. Mando stood from his place on the ground and walked over to cuff him. The entire time Gideon’s eyes hadn’t left me, he had a dumbfounded look on his face and what looked like a smile. As Mando was getting him cuffed and standing, I walked over to the brig and peeked inside.

Sitting on a bench was a small child; he was green, just like my dreams, and the room he was in was the same one I saw. His ears perked up when I looked in. He had cuffs on his small wrists; hopefully, Gideon had the key to unlock them. He eyed me as I walked towards him, and as I was picking him up, he let out a soft coo. My heart was warmed by the tiny creature and I completely understand why Mando put so much on the line for him. I cradled him in my arms as we walked towards the door to reunite him with his father. When Grogu saw his dad, he let out a small cry of joy and reached out to him. The little guy squirmed in my arms as he tried to get to Mando; I handed him over and looked away in an attempt to give them a moment to reconnect. The Darksaber was still on the ground a few feet away, so I walked over to retrieve it for Bo-Katan. As I picked it up, the saber ignited in my hands.

“Wow,” I breathed out.

“What?” I heard from behind me. I turned around to face Mando with the saber ignited in my hands. The way the energy moved across the blade was beautiful. Gideon’s grin turned into a psychotic smile.

“Oh, this will be good,” he commented.

“You, shut it,” Mando growled as he pushed Gideon in front of him. We made our way to the bridge where the others should already be. We quickly weaved through the hallways, the sound of our fast footsteps echoing off the cold walls. The saber was still ignited at my side as we walked, mainly because I didn’t know how to make it shut off. We finally found the room the others were gathered in and joined them. Bo-Katan turned around as we entered, a wild look in her eyes.

“What happened?” she questioned. She sounded angry in a way.

“They brought them in alive, that’s what happened, and now the New Republic’s gonna have to double the payment,” Cara stated. She walked towards Mando and grabbed Grogu’s small hand.

“That’s not what she’s talking about,” Gideon interjected. “Why don’t you kill her now and take it?” Bo-Katan was eyeing me with fury in her eyes. Cara walked towards Gideon and shoved him on the ground. “It’s yours now,” he said while looking at me.

“What is?” I asked confused.

“The Darksaber,” he responded, “it belongs to you.” I pressed the button on the top, hoping that was what shut it off. The saber disappeared leaving only the hilt.

“Now… it belongs to her,” I said while handing it to Bo-Katan.

“She can’t take it. It must be won in battle. In order for her to wield the Darksaber again, she would need to defeat you in combat.”

“I yield. It’s yours.” I said shoving it toward her.

“Oh, no,” he said chuckling, “it doesn’t work that way. The Darksaber doesn’t have power. The story does. Without that blade, she’s a pretender to the throne.”

“He’s right,” Bo-Katan responded stubbornly. The alarms started beeping inside the room; I turned around to look at Mando with fear in my eyes. Was she going to try to kill me?

“We’re being boarded,” I heard Fennec say through the noise.

“How many life forms?” Bo-Katan asked. Fennec looked back at us.

“None.” Everything looked as if it was moving in slow motion around me. What had I just done? I was only doing what I could to protect Mando and during the process, I became the ruler of Mandalore. I stood in the center of the room, the hilt of the Darksaber still in my hand. The others hastily moved around me to fight whatever was boarding the ship, but I stood there numb. If I had drowned, this wouldn’t be happening. I was slightly pulled from the haze by Mando ripping the object out of my hand and replacing it with my blaster. He attached it to his hip for safekeeping and grabbed my shoulders. I looked at his helmet; I could tell he was talking to me by the way it was moving, but everything sounded like it was being said underwater. The doors to the room shut, and I could feel the shaking of the floor as the people were nearing, No, not people, the dark troopers. Mando grabbed either side of my face and yelled my name. The shock of his loud voice awoke me from the daze. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as my heart pounded. One way or another, I would probably die within the next 10 minutes.

“If I die please find my parents,” I spit out. He shook his head.

“You’re not going to die. I’m not going to let you die,” he responded.

“Promise me,” I yelled at him. He stood completely still for a moment before nodding his head.

“I promise.” The dark troopers had arrived outside the door. All was still for seconds before the doors started shaking; they were going to punch their way through. I stood beside Mando with my blaster in my hand. The child was hidden behind a counter, he looked defeated.

“You have an impressive fire team protecting you,” Moff Gideon began, “But I think we all know, after a valiant stand, everyone in this room will be dead, but me and the Child.” We stood together facing the increasingly bent doors ready to fight when the alarms sounded again. Outside the window was a single X-Wing flying into dock. Koska called out for it to identify itself, but there was no response. As I glanced over the room, I saw Grogu look up in interest. His ears perked and his eyes widened.

“Mando,” I whispered, “I think, I think this is the person you’ve been looking for. Look at Grogu.” His helmet turned to look at the Child who was waddling towards the screens. We walked towards him and watched as a cloaked figure tore its way through the dark troopers, a glowing saber in hand. Grogu’s small hand reached out to the screen as he watched in amazement. I glanced over at Mando who looked back at me. The person was making their way towards us efficiently. They entered the elevator that would bring them to this hallway; the only that was separating us was the eighteen or so dark troopers right outside. The elevator doors opened, and the figure began fighting the dark troopers. Their movement was calculated and steady as if they were dancing. As the dark troopers fell one by one, the person moved closer to the door until they were standing just outside.

“Open the doors,” Mando demanded. He picked up Grogu and walked towards the control panel. His fist slammed down on a yellow button and the doors separated, smoke flowing in. The cloaked figure stepped into the room and shut off the glowing sword. They slowly pulled down their cloak hood to reveal their identity, a young man. Grogu’s head peeked out from behind a chair to look at the man.

“Are you a Jedi?” Mando asked.

“I am,” the man responded. His hand reached out to Grogu. “Come, little one.” Grogu’s head tilted to look up to Mando.

“He doesn’t want to go with you.”

“He wants your permission. He is strong with the Force, but talent without training is nothing. I will give my life to protect the Child, but he will not be safe until he masters his abilities.” Mando walked over and picked up the Child.

“Hey, go on. That’s who you belong with. He’s one of your kind. I’ll see you again. I promise.” Grogu’s tiny hand reached up to Mando’s helmet and rested on the side. I saw Mando hesitate a moment before reaching for the bottom of his helmet and pulling it over his head. My eyes darted to the ground out of habit and respect; he gave Grogu permission to see his face, but none of us. My gaze was locked on his boots and eventually, I saw him place Grogu at his feet. A droid rolled into the room, interesting Grogu, and pulling him away from his dad. I could see water spots form on the floor below him, he was crying. There was a silent exchange as the Jedi picked up Grogu and walked out, leaving the rest of us alone. I walked forward and grabbed Mando’s helmet off the floor; shielding my eyes, I brought it up to him. The weight was lifted from my hand and I gave him a few seconds to put it on before removing my hand from my face. He stood in front of me staring.

“Ready for pick up,” Cara said into a com mic.

“Copy,” I heard Fett reply. Through the window, I could see my ship appear out of thin air. Mando grabbed my side and pushed me behind him.

“For now, you will keep track of the Darksaber,” he said walking towards Bo-Katan, unclipping the hilt from his hip and handing it to her, “But make no mistake, any attempt on her life,” he said while pointing at me, “is a direct attempt on mine. We will figure something out and return to you.” He turned around and grabbed my wrist. Cara and Fennec both picked up Moff Gideon and we walked out of the room together to my ship. I looked over and Mando and his helmet tilted down to meet my gaze.

“Why would you say that? We’re practically bonded now,” I asked.

“Because you mean something to the Child,” he said, “and to me.” My eyes widened and I looked down at the floor as the heat rushed to my face; I could feel a smile creep onto my face. The five of us made it to the top floor where Fett had docked. We all made an effort to push Gideon’s limp body up through the port. Next was Cara and Fennec, and finally, Mando and I. Being away from Bo-Katan gave me a false sense of safety, and while I knew Mando would try to protect me, that didn’t insure my survival. I looked up at him and smiled. I walked down to the small kitchenette and started making myself something to eat. Like always, food should make me feel better.


	7. VII

I spent the rest of the day in the lounge. Moff Gideon was refusing to tell us anything, so we couldn’t figure out where my parents were yet. There wasn’t anything else to do. Fett was busy piloting, Cara and Fennec were locked in their sleeping cabin, Mando was in ours but I didn’t want to invade his space. I looked out the window at the stars flying past as we drifted through space. It had to be late; my body was tired and aching. I wrapped my arms around myself tightly and leaned my head against the chair, closing my eyes tightly.

I imagined what my parents were doing at this very moment. I wondered what Grogu was doing and if he regretted leaving his dad. Mando hadn’t left his room for the entire ride, I can tell he was distraught over handing over his only family. Sometime during my time of reflection, I fell asleep in the lounge room. I didn’t have any dreams; my body was too distressed. I woke up the next morning on the soft bed, wrapped in blankets. I sat up confused, looking around the empty room. The space next to me was folded neatly, with no sign of Mando. My hair was tangled and messy and my clothes were tangled around my body from my tossing and turning. I pulled the covers off my body and slid my boots back on. The sound of talking came from down the hall in the lounge. I walked towards the voices and saw Mando interrogating Moff Gideon. I stood in the doorway and watched as Mando looked down on the man, threatening his life. 

“Mando,” I called out. His head snapped up to me and he backed away from Gideon. “Give me some time with him.” Mando looked down at the man then back at me before walking past me. He grabbed my arm on the way out and whispered that he’d be right outside. The door shut behind him and I stepped towards the man.

“What do you plan on doing to me little girl?” he spat at me. 

“I don’t plan on doing anything. I just only want to know what you gain by keeping my parent’s location a secret. You’ve been captured and it doesn’t look like any of your Imperial friends are attempting to save you.” He chuckled at me, shaking his head. 

“Just you wait,” he said through gritted teeth. I sat down in the chair across from him and stared at him for a moment. My legs were crossed, and I was tapping my bottom foot; annoyance is a great wait to break someone. 

“You know, I have powers similar to the Child,” I began, “I can’t move things with my mind or anything like that, but I see things.” He looked up to me and arched an eyebrow; he was interested. “For instance, I saw what you had done to that child. I saw his room; I saw him flinging Stormtroopers around.”

“You could’ve easily guessed those things,” he said condescendingly. 

“I saw that gun you used to make him sleep; I saw my mother caring for him; I know she was on that ship, and better yet, I know where she is now.” I could see his annoyance grow as I mentioned things no one could ever guess. His gaze shifted from my tapping foot to my eyes and back to my foot. 

“If you already know where she is, then why are you questioning me?” Is stared at him quietly. 

“I can see what she can see. I just woke up from a dream. I cold building, industrial looking. It must’ve been a cold planet; maybe Vandor?” He laughed at me and shook his head. 

“My prisoners are being held in a village on Tatooine, no industrial buildings or cold, only huts and sand, you know nothing girl.” I sat there and smirked at him, waiting for him to realize the information he had just given me. I stood from my chair and walked towards him.

“Thank you for the information,” I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at me confused before realizing he told me exactly what I needed to know. Outside the room, Cara and Mando were talking. 

“They’re in a desolate village on Tatooine,” I said. Mando’s head tilted.

“How did you?”

“When you’re the youngest cousin out of eight, you learn to manipulate people to get the information you want out of them,” I said with a smirk. Cara chuckled beside me and nodded at both of us as she walked into the lounge. “What’s the next move?” I asked. 

“Well, Cara needs to get Moff Gideon to a resistance council, and Fennec and Fett were talking about some ‘unfinished business’ they have to take care of, so I guess it’s me and you.” I nodded my head. 

“So, where to then?”

“Cara has given Fett the coordinates to a rebel camp that will take in Moff Gideon, so I assume we’re going there.”

“What do you want to do in the downtime?” 

“I was actually about to go look for food.” I nodded my head and smiled. We walked down the hall to the kitchenette, and I crawled on top of the counter to reach the cabinets. I pulled out a pack of instant bread, a new carton of broth, and a bag of freeze-dried fruit. Mando leaned against the wall behind me and watched as I did my work. I turned on the open burner and placed the broth in a bowl to warm. I poured the contents of the instant bread pack onto a plate and pulled out a fresh canteen of water. I poured a tiny amount onto the plate and mixed it with my finger. It began to rise and take shape; science is fun. I poured the remaining water into two cups. I peered behind my shoulder to see Mando standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his left foot propped onto the wall. I pulled the warmed broth off the burner and poured it into two bowls. I turned around and moved out of the way to show Mando my feast. He shook his head and laughed as he walked towards me; He. Laughed. I smiled at his reaction and grabbed my own bowl and cup along with the bag of fruit. He grabbed his bowl and cup as well as the bread. I shuffled behind him as we walked to our room. We sat on the bed facing each other, his legs to the side of me and mine crossed. 

“You can take your helmet off, I’ll just keep my eyes down,” I said.

“You’ve already seen it.” He asked confused. I shook my head.

“No, I looked away, you gave Grogu permission to look, not me.” He sat quietly, looking at me. I looked down at my bowl and raised it to my lips to sip. Making sure to keep my head down.

“And if I gave you permission to look right now?” he asked.

“I would if that’s what you want,” I said after swallowing my broth, “but I think that would ruin the mystery that surrounds you.” I said before taking a bite out of the piece of bread I tore off. 

“Mystery?”

“Yea, I only know two things about your physical appearance, you have brown eyes, and brown hair long enough to use scissors on.” His head tilted. “I was in the shower stall beside you on Lothal, I heard you cut your hair and I saw it in the trash bin.” He reached to pull off his helmet, and I looked down at my hands. I saw the helmet sit on the bed in front of me. The way my bangs fell in front of my eyes with my head at this angle made it impossible to even try to peek. I heard him sip from his bowl as I did the same, keeping my eyes closed. 

“You got to ask questions about my life, now it’s my turn.” I nodded my head. “What was it like growing up on Nevarro.” I laughed.

“I clearly never learned how to swim,” he laughed again. I could get used to hearing that sound. “It was nice, I lived in a tiny village, half the people were my family, the other half were all my friends or my parent’s friends,” I explained, “I got to spend all day playing with my cousins. I didn’t have to go to school or anything, my parents taught me everything.” I had a wide smile on my face, but the itch of my eyes meant I was going to cry. “It made having a boyfriend awkward though, everyone knows everything,” I finished. 

“I never got the experience those things, I put the helmet on when I was probably seven or eight. Relationships simply wouldn’t work with my career.” I nodded my head. That was understandable, but it still made my chest tighten. “You’ve learned all your skills from your parents?” I nodded.

“My mom taught me how to cook and perform medical aid, and my father taught me how to fly a ship. It’s pretty gender-stereotypical, but that’s what each of them loved to do. Even though I was the youngest, I was in charge of cooking and caring for my entire family quite often; that’s probably why I’ve always cooked for those I care about,” I said nonchalantly. We sat together in silence for a while. Mando pulled the helmet off the bed and brought it up towards his head. I looked up when I saw sure he had it on and smiled at him. The bag of dried fruit was unopened; as my hand reached out to grab it, so did Mando’s. 

“Here,” I began. I pulled the now empty plate the bread was on to my lap, dumping half the contents of the bag onto it and handing the bag to Mando. He grabbed the bag and ate his half while I ate mine. Outside, the stars were moving by slowly. There was a small knock on the door followed by Fennec calling out that we had rationed enough fuel to jump into hyperspace. I replied with a simple thanks and returned to my stargazing. 

“Why do you watch the stars so much?” I heard Mando ask. 

“I don’t know, I just think they’re beautiful. The universe is so large and we’re just a small portion of its beauty,” I replied. I grabbed the empty dishes and walked back to the kitchenette to clean and put them away. As I stood there and rinsed the bowls, I couldn’t help but wonder why Mando was taking such an interest in my life. Was he just sizing up the legitimate ruler of Mandalore? Did he actually care about me? Doubtful, but still a possibility. I couldn’t help but blush at the thought of him caring about me. Yes, I have a tiny crush on him, but I’m a normal girl and he’s a bounty hunting warrior; as he said, relationships would never work for him, and while that hurts, I’ll just have to accept that the odds of anything happening between us are close to zero.

When I returned to the room, we were already in hyperspace; our arrival at Cara’s secret destination was imminent. Mando was no longer in the room, so I had the whole bed to sprawl out and relax. I laid on my back and stared up at the ceiling. Thinking about Mando in the kitchen brought up all sorts of emotions inside of me. Not only emotions about my family, but my old friends. I smiled as I remember one boy in particular, Kav; the first person I ever had a crush on, the first person I kissed, and the first person I… well. I pulled my arms around myself tightly; I wasn’t afraid to admit that I was completely touch starved and desperate for affection, that’s probably the only reason I’m even attracted to Mando, I’m hungry for contact, as if I’d ever get that from him. 

I rolled my head back to look out the window and saw a large, green planet passing by. We were entering its atmosphere when I heard the door open and Mando walk in. I nearly jumped out of my skin as I sat up and scurried to my side. 

“What…were you doing?” 

“Life is hard when your love language is touch,” I said jokingly. 

“Your what?” he asked. I rolled my eyes and shook my head while laughing. 

“Nothing, I’m just joking around.” No, I’m not. I rubbed my eyes to hide the tears that were forming. 

“Cara and I are going to escort Moff Gideon to the guards, we’ll be back in a little while.” I nodded my head and gave him a soft smile. He walked out and I exited the room shortly after, I walked up to the piloting room and sat in the only other chair. Boba’s chair swiveled around, and he faced me, helmet off. 

“What’s wrong princess? You seem sad,” I smiled at the man and shook my head.

“No, I just don’t want to be alone on a foreign planet.” He gave me a knowing look. I sighed and looked at my hands as I picked at the skin around my nails.

“Fett, have you ever had… a crush?” He chuckled and shook his head.

“I had my fair share of ladies on my ventures throughout the galaxy, but I don’t think I’m the person to be giving out advice.” I nodded my head and started to stand up “Is this about him?” I looked at him wide-eyed. “Fennec might have mentioned it.” I’m going to murder her. 

“Yeah, it is.”

“Well, if there’s one thing my father taught me. It’s that life as a Mandalorian, as a bounty hunter, is lonely. I believe that the level of connection he has shown with the Child shows that soon, he will give it up for a family. Like my father tried to do.” I had my doubts, but I nodded my head and stood from my spot. I walked to the lounge room and sat in my normal seat and looked outside at the thick woods.

Why do I care so much about a man I met not too long ago? Sure, we’ve been in close quarters, but I hardly know him. I sat with my head in my hands as I waited for the two to return so we could leave and head for Nevarro. I’m certain that eventually, my crush on Mando would dissipate, but for now, I suffer from my emotions.


	8. VIII

I sat in the lounge room staring out the window for what felt like forever. I heard heavy footsteps board the ship, Mando and Cara must be back. I stood from my chair and walked to the door to ask them how things went. The doors slid open, and I was met with Mando's chest hitting my face. As I started to fall backward, I could feel his arms wrap around my waist to keep me steady; that wasn't going to help me straighten out any of my feelings. I looked up to meet the gaze of his helmet; I knew my face was bright red.

"Thank you," I said quietly. I pushed past him and walked towards my room. I walked in and took a seat on the bed, pulling my legs to my chest to make myself small. The room was quiet, but my racing thoughts made it seem like I was in a crowd of people. A knock came from behind the door followed by Mando walking in.

"There was no place to refuel, so we won't be able to enter hyperspace to travel to Nevarro." I nodded. My eyes were locked on the wall in front of me; I was scared of what my face would do if I looked at him.

"How long have we been traveling?" I asked.

"Well, we just left whatever planet that was minutes ago," he stated.

"No, no. I mean. How long has it been since we left Tython?"

"Probably, over a month. Time feels different when you're traveling through space," he replied. He moved to sit beside me on the edge of the bed. In his hands was the small metal ball; I stared at him as he rolled it over his palm. We sat quietly together for a while; it was comfortable.

"I think everything is going to turn out okay," I called out, trying to see if he let out any sign of emotion, "It will get figured out." After I didn't receive any show that he cared about what I said I let out a sigh. "Why don't you talk about him and what you're feeling?" His head turned to look at me.

"Have you ever considered that I simply don't want to talk about my feelings?" he asked coldly. The words hit me like a bucket of freezing water. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I slid off the bed and walked out of the room to the lounge. I drifted in and stood in the far corner looking out the window as tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. I heard the door open behind me and I peered over my shoulder to see him walking in behind me. The doors closed automatically but this time, he made sure to press the button to lock them. "Sindre please I'm-,"

"Please Din, just, leave, I don't want to do this right now," I called him by his name, his real name, something I've never done before. I heard a loud sigh from behind me.

"I'm not leaving right now, and I'm not going to leave until you tell me what exactly is wrong." I blinked hard as the tears slid down my cheeks. "Sindre, I know I haven't been a good friend, or even a good person these past weeks. But the pain I'm dealing with is unbelievable. The little green guy that I adopted as my son is somewhere out there, with a man I have never even met." I slowly turned around and looked at him, fists clenched.

"You have no right to tell me what pain is unbelievable when you brought the exact same thing down on me. I thought my parents were dead for months because of your actions. Better yet, I find out they're being held as working slaves for the Empire, the same people that slaughtered my friends, neighbors, and relatives," I sobbed out. "I have done everything I can to help you get back your son, my life is at risk from defending you against Moff Gideon. You don't think Bo-Katan is going to try and kill me eventually?" I screamed at him. Thank whoever made this ship for making the walls soundproof. He stood there silently, astounded at my outburst.

"I know, I'm sorry," he whispered looking at the floor.

I took a shaky breath in before continuing. I took a step forward so that I was only a few feet away and looked at him, "You don't understand how absolutely frustrating it is when the person you long for doesn't want to let you in. I want you; can't you see that? I want to know you, I want to see you, I want to be with you, but you make it impossible." I watched as he turned around and walked to the wall opposite me. He placed his hand above his head and touched his helmet to the wall.

*smut*

"Turn around."

I wiped the tears off my cheeks, "What?" He turned his head to peer over his shoulder.

"Turn. Around." My eyes widened at his tone of voice. Forceful yet caring. I turned around and looked down at my feet. I heard the sound of a pressure lock releasing followed by the sound of metal hitting metal; he took off his helmet. I could sense him getting closer to me.

"I have seen it. I see it in the sideways glances, the blush that creeps to your cheeks when we talk," he stepped closer, "I heard it on Morak," he said in my ear. His gloved hand swept the hair on my shoulder out of the way. "I realized the moment that you told me about how you analyzed my behavior for my own comfort, that there was something special about you and I promise, there is only one thing that I have wanted more than your touch for the past month," he breathed. I became lightheaded from holding my breath for so long. I closed my eyes and sunk into the feeling of him behind me. His hands held my hips as he whispered in my ear.

A soft pair of lips pressed against my neck which caused me to shudder. I turned around, making sure to keep my eyes closed. We were close, close enough that I could feel his breath on my lips. My hands crept up from his sides and rested on either side of his face. He had facial hair, not a lot but enough. I bit my lip to hide its trembling from my nervousness. I felt his right-hand slide past my cheek to hold the base of my skull as the other supported the center of my back. I wasn't going to let this chance go to waste, this is what I wanted, this is what I needed. I pulled him down to me, his lips against mine moving together slowly. We stood there in each other's arms, letting our built-up emotions pass between us. I pulled away first.

"Are you sure this is something you want?" I asked. I wasn't responded to with words, but instead his lips against mine, this time, they were moving quickly. I felt as his teeth nipped at my bottom lip and my knees buckled. His hand slid from my back to my butt.

"Jump," he muttered against my lips. I did as he said and wrapped my legs around his waist pulling myself closer to him. I knew he was strong, but I couldn't believe he could carry me with one arm. He removed his hand from the back of my head to unlock the door. He carried me down the hallway and into our sleep chamber. The doors opened and I was tossed on the bed. I heard him press the button to lock them before returning to our session. I was sitting on the edge of the bed while he was standing beside it. I heard metal and leather hit the floor.

His warm, calloused hands slid up my shirt and grabbed my waist. I gasped into the kiss which only made him pull me in closer. I felt for his chest, his Beskar removed leaving only his plain clothing. I reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. My hands grabbed at his bare back; it was smooth. He pulled my shirt over my head, leaving me in my undershirt. He fumbled with the buttons on my pants quickly ripping them off leaving me in only my underwear. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist and brought him down on top of me, quickly flipping him over so I was on top. My hair fell between us and I felt him ball it into a fist and hold it back. My hips moved against his, his hands grazing over my chest. I grabbed at his belt buckle as he flipped us back over. He moved away from me for a moment leaving me cold.

"I can't hold my eyes shut this entire time," I said breathlessly. I heard him move around before a ripping sound reached my ears. A piece of cloth was wrapped around my face and tied behind my head. He crawled back on top of me, his head sat in the crook of my neck leaving light kisses. We were both stripped to our undergarments, hearts pounding, breathing heavily, and sweating. I pulled his head up to mine and kissed him forcefully. His hand slid up my undershirt grabbing at my breast. I moaned into his mouth and got a smile in return. I sat up and ripped my undershirt off. Both hands reached for my chest while gently biting my neck. I couldn't hold in the noises that were coming out no matter how hard I tried. He left a trail of kisses down my center, starting at my throat and ending just below the hem of my underwear. I felt his breath hitting my inner thighs, making my whole body tingle. His fingers traced my hemline before hooking around on either side and pulling them down. The sound of the tossed fabric hitting the floor let me know that I was entirely naked.

My body was aching for him at this point. His head sat between my legs, kissing up and down my thighs.

"Please," I whimpered out. I heard a low chuckle.

"You want it that bad?" I nodded my head hoping he would see. I went to open my mouth to respond just in case he hadn't, but I was only able to gasp as I felt his tongue slid between my lips. My hands flew to grab his hair, but his hand came up and caught my wrists before they could touch him. My back arched as his tongue flicked against me, my hips bucking back in his face. I heard him laugh again at my struggle to get out of his grip. I felt as he brought his other hands up and circled my clit with two fingers. I was writhing in pleasure, I craved him. He slid the two fingers inside me as his tongue took over the duty of pleasuring my clit.

"Please, Din, Please I'm so close please," with those words, he stopped. Pulling away from me. I'm sure I let out a whimper of distress. His left hand was placed beside my head as he stuck the two fingers in my mouth. I obliged as I knew he was watching.

"Good girl," he said. He brought his lips back to mine and I ferociously kissed back. I pulled at his waistband signaling for him to pull them off. He pulled away and did as I asked, quickly returning to me. I flipped us over so that I was on top. My hips grinding against his. I pulled back for a minute.

"Are you sure?"

"More than ever," he whispered his hands sat on my waist as I adjusted myself on top. I grabbed for him and when I felt his girth, I was astounded; he was big. I placed him at my opening before gently sliding down on top. I heard him gasp as his fingers dug into my side. He sat up, wrapping his arms around my torso and pulling himself closer. I bucked my hips against his.

"You feel so good Sindre," he moaned out. His hand returned to my skull and grabbed me roughly. I scratched at his back as our tempo sped up. He licked from my jaw to my neck as I screamed out in pleasure, marking his back as he marked my neck. As we were both nearing our finish, we grew sloppy.

"I'm so close Din please," I screamed.

"No, hold it," he mumbled into my chest. I felt a ball form in my stomach as I tried to hold off for as long as possible. He was close I could tell. He moaned loudly into my chest as he released and I followed in suit, riding out the high.

I fell onto his chest as we both let out labored breaths. I turned over and laid beside where he sat.

"Can I take this off?" I asked motioning to the blindfold.

He sat up and pressed a button, I'm assuming the overhead lights, "Now you can," he breathed out. I pulled it off and let out a sigh.

"That was,"

"Amazing," he finished.

"Yea, I would say that," I replied with a laugh. There was a moment of quiet as we both calmed down.

"Turn around," he said softly.

I laughed, "I don't think I can handle another round right now,"

"No," he chuckled, "Just trust me," I did as he asked and faced the wall. I felt him slide up beside me, I could feel his chest pressed against my back. His arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me into him. I felt a gentle kiss against my shoulder blade. We laid like this for a while as I analyzed everything that led up to this moment

"What do you mean you heard it on Morak?" I questioned. He laughed.

"I wasn't going to tell you, but your mic was on when you were talking to Fennec. I heard everything." My cheeks got hot. How was I still embarrassed by that when I just had sex with the man?

"I.... yea," I replied and I pulled his arm up to wrap around my shoulders. I could still feel his heart beating quickly and the rhythm of it put me to sleep.

*end smut*

_____________________

I woke up to light shining through the window. The sheets on the bed were twisted around my naked body. Memories of the night before rushed through my head and I felt a smile creep onto my face. I turned around slowly to see Din facing the other wall; his hair was a fluffy mess, his skin was scratched and bruised, and he was snoring. I sat up and pulled my hair back as I searched for my clothes. I pulled on my shirt and underwear quickly and peaked into the hallway; the coast was clear. I ran quietly down the hall towards the lounge to retrieve his helmet and gloves. I turned the corner and was shocked to see Fennec already awake and sitting in the room. My eyes widened in embarrassment, but she just picked up his belongings and tossed them to me. I slowly backed out of the room, mouthing a simple "Thank you".

When I got back to the room, I could hear rushed movement from inside. I knocked on the door and was greeted by Mando's shirtless body opening the door. My hand slapped over my eyes as he pulled me in from the hallway. His helmet left my hand followed shortly by his gloves. When I heard his helmet click into place, I opened my eyes to find my pants. After sliding them onto my legs and putting my boots on, I walked towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. As I poured the water into a small cup, I couldn't help but question myself about the night before. If all I wanted was sex, I wouldn't still have this feeling in my gut. No, No, I liked him in more ways than that. I saw Fennec walking down the hallway towards me.

"Are we in Nevarro?" I asked. She nodded her head as she placed her cup in the basin.

"What was that this morning?" She questioned. I looked at her and shook my head. She giggled at my response and turned towards her and Cara's room. The ramp lowered as the others emerged from their rooms. Cara and Fennec were holding hands and talking, Boba was leading the way out of the ship, and Mando was waiting back a bit. When the others were just on the edge of town, we exited the ship. We walked side by side in silence for a few minutes before he broke the quiet.

"After the others are settled back in, you and I will travel to Tatooine to retrieve your parents." I nodded my head and we fell back into silence.

"I think I want them to come live on Tython with me. I think they'll be safe and off the gird there." He didn't respond to me at all, he only quickened his pace. I looked at him confused and reached out to grab his wrist. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to me.

"Din... Mando," I began, "If things are going to be awkward between us now, I'd rather just forget the night and go back to being friends or partners or whatever we were before." I could feel his gaze through the eyebar of his helmet.

"I don't want to forget last night," he started, "and I don't want to go back to what we had before." He turned around and started walking towards the town again. What the hell did he just say? I stood there processing what he had told me, most likely looking like a total idiot.

"Sindre!" Cara yelled. I snapped out of my daze and looked towards her voice; they were all standing at the entrance of Nevarro City, looking back at me. I jogged to catch up to them. When I had finally reached the entrance, Mando was nowhere in sight. Cara found Greef Carga and talked with him, introducing Fennec. Fett was talking to a man selling a ship, and I was left alone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the reflection of metal slip into an alley. My head told me not to follow him, but I was curious about his secrecy. I walked to the start of the alley, the only movement being the flap of a curtain covering an entryway. I waited a few minutes before peaking my head into the doorway; a small set of stairs leading down to a dark hall. Being as quiet as possible, I tiptoed down the stairs. When I reached the bottom, I was pushed against a wall, a cold arm to my throat. My feet were hanging off the floor and I couldn't breathe.

"Mando...it's...me," I labored out. The arm left my throat and I fell to the floor choking. Once I could finally breathe, I looked up at him as he squatted beside me. "What is this place?"

"It's a Mandalorian enclave. Members of my kind would hide out here before it was destroyed." I gave him a confused look. He held out his hand and I took it, pulling myself to my feet. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I could hear it in my ears.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I shouldn't have snuck up on you." His hand left mine and raised to my face, brushing the hair off my cheek, he seemed like he was in a daze. I saw him visibly snap out of it as he pulled his hand from the side of my face and turned to walk down the hall. I followed behind, trying to match his stride but I just ended up jogging beside him. This structure was like a maze, but he took every turn with confidence; he's probably been here hundreds of times. We walked in silence, the only sound being our footsteps; it reminded me of the mission on Moff Gideon's cruiser. I wonder if it reminded him too.

We turned a final corner before finding a room. Inside was a cylindrical stone with a sheet of metal on top as well as tall cabinets that had been emptied.

"What is this room?" I asked.

"It's where our armor is made. That table was used to form our Beskar." He looked around, I watched as he analyzed the room. He stood staring at the cabinets. I walked over to him and slid my hand into his, giving it a small squeeze.

"Din," I started, "I know that you were probably never taught how to show your emotions or feelings, and I know you were most likely taught to stuff them as far down as possible, but I want you to know that right here, right now, the only person that will see you express yourself is me." His stance became rigid and his breathing erratic. "If you need to cry, cry; if you need to scream, scream; but please don't bottle everything up. You need to feel." I squeezed his hand before walking into the hallway. There was silence for a few moments, but soon I could hear the sound of doors slamming, things crashing to the floor, and screaming. He was frustrated, angry, and upset. After the sounds stopped, I peered around the corner to see him crumpled up on the floor, sobbing and heaving. I stepped into the room and walked up behind him.

His hands were in fists, his head looking at the floor as he wailed. I knelt beside him and put my hand on his back. His head turned to me and I gave him a soft smile of reassurance. His hand reached for the one sitting on my lap, wrapping it in his. We sat looking at each other for a small moment before he reached for the edge of his helmet. I averted my gaze, not wanting to impose. The sound of the airlock let me know his face was uncovered beside me. His hand left mine and reached for my cheek pulling my face up to look at him. He pulled my head up, but I closed my eyes, not sure he knew what he was doing.

"Open your eyes Sindre." I hesitated, but eventually, I allowed my eyes to flutter open, meeting his gaze. His eyes were a warm brown; his skin was tan; he indeed had facial hair; his hair was still as messy as it was this morning. I looked over his face. He had tear streaks, his cheeks were red, and his eyes were irritated. His eyes glanced down to my lips then back to my eyes; mine did the same. I could feel us moving closer together, his hand moving to the back of my head and mine reaching for his face. We were only a couple of inches apart. I could feel his breath on my face and I'm certain he could feel mine. I took in as much of his face as possible, not sure when I would see it again. He moved down to me, his lips connecting to mine. We sat like this, in each other's arms, for an eternity. He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.

"Thank you," he whispered. I grabbed his head and moved it to my shoulder, wrapping my arms around him and holding him tightly.

"No matter what, I will always be here for you Din."


	9. IX

Din was walking quickly a few feet in front of me as we headed back to the ship. After visiting the Mandalorian enclave, we went back into town to say goodbye to the others; Cara and Fennec promised to see each other again and Fett had haggled with the man selling the ship to get a reasonable price. We thanked them for their help and headed back to my ship. When we were arriving back, the droids had just finished fueling the tank for us; Mando flipped them a few coins as he walked on and I thanked the machines. He walked straight to the piloting room and I followed behind him. The ramp was rising behind me as the ship closed up, getting ready for take-off. He sat in the big chair in front of the controls and I sat in the co-piloting chair a bit behind him. I watched as he flicked switches and pressed buttons. Everything he does is attractive to me now. I sat there biting my lip and staring at him, my eyebrows slightly raised.

"You're staring," he called out. I felt a blush come to my cheeks as I swallowed.

"I...no...I'm just... analyzing." He looked back at me and chuckled.

"Believe what you want," he replied. I lightly smiled and stood from the chair, walking to get a glass of water. Things between Din and I were great, but I can't help but imagine what will happen when we get my parents, and we part ways. I grabbed one of the last canteens and turned to go back to the piloting room. I stood behind him as he got everything situated and figured out the controls. I handed the bottle to him after I looked a sip. He looked up at me and grabbed it moving his helmet up just enough to take a sip. I sat back down in the co-pilot seat as we got ready to take off to Tatooine. Eventually, the planet of Nevarro was just a small blip on the radar as we flew out into the endless space. Din punched in the coordinates to Tatooine and spun around to face me.

"What are you doing?" I asked confused as to why he turned around.

"Turning around to talk to you? I'm not used to having a travel companion that can actually speak to me, is this not normal?" He asked. I smiled and laughed at him.

"It's normal, I just didn't expect you to face me while we talk."

"I like watching you when you speak, you get this look on your face when you talk about things you're passionate about." I looked down at my hands as I fiddled with them in my lap. I looked back at him after sitting quietly.

"Can you tell me about him? I've told you about my family and I guess you've kind of told me about yours, but I want to get to know Grogu," I said. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I told you I've been a bounty hunter for years. Eventually, the bounties I was given weren't enough to cover the costs of much. Greef, the man from Nevarro, mentioned a special bounty that some very important people need to be carried out. I agreed to take it and set out to find him. Once I did, we traveled together across Arvala-7 together, and he saved my life when I was fighting a mud horn. I did end up giving him to the Imps, but I regretted it instantly and broke into their base to take him back. Since then, we had been on the move to keep him safe and find him a real home. My career is no life for a child, and he needs to learn to use his abilities," he explained. I listened to him interested and took mental notes on things to ask questions about.

"Did you always love him like a son?"

"I don't think I have; I think it started more as repaying a debt; he saved my life, I save his. Somewhere along the line, I just started caring for him in an entirely new way." I smiled at him and nodded my head.

"You're a good father to him," I said. He pulled out the small metal ball and looked down at it. "What is that?"

"It was the handle on one of the levers on my ship, Grogu loved playing with it. When I think about him a pull it out." He was good at the parenting thing, it made me wonder why he never wanted to settle down and start a family of his own. "My turn to question you," he said as he sat up straight. I nodded and crossed my legs, leaning back in the chair. "Why did you leave Nevarro?"

"There wasn't anything there for me. I didn't want to turn into one of the old ladies who have nothing to live for."

"Then why did you move to Tython of all places?"

"I think Tython was a cleanse for me; I wanted to become self-sustainable. There's no better way to learn how to survive than to force yourself to live off the planet. I also wanted to be as alone as possible then; I've clearly come to regret that." He sat up and looked at me before turning around to face the control board.

"We're going to be entering hyperspace in a few seconds, so I would get settled in if I were you." I sat back and watched as the stars turned into streaks of light as we were pulled in. We sat in each other's company quietly for the short ride. Somewhere along the journey, I fell asleep.

My dreams were filled with fire; the agony and pain of losing a loved one; the sound of screams and sobs. I watched as men, women, and children ran through a small village that was burning, the smoke burned my lungs. In the distance, I could see stormtroopers, the source of the fire. They were torching the place. I stood in the center of it all, I watched as mothers lost their children, fathers fought to defend their families. Could this be where my parents were?

I awoke from my dream gasping; in front of me, Din was screaming my name.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Fire. Village. Sandy. Stormtroopers," I spit out. My lungs still burned as if I was really there. Din stepped to the side and through the window, I could see the planet of Tatooine.

"Your parents?"

"I don't know," I whispered. He stood from where he was crouched and grabbed the water canteen off of the dash.

"Here, drink." I grabbed the bottle out of his hand and took a sip. The cool liquid soothed the soreness of my throat. My forehead was sweaty, and my hands were shaking. The hair on the back of my head stuck to the nape of my neck, making me extremely uncomfortable.

"We have to find them, Din," I said looking up to him. He placed a gloved hand on my shoulder.

"I promised you we would, and I cannot break a promise." He turned and sat in the chair and pulled up a screen.

"There aren't many cities or villages on Tatooine, and the ones that do exist have high populations. Our best bet is to land in Mos Eisley and ask around about any fires." I nodded my head and stood from the chair. Din took over control of the ship and set to land in Mos Eisley. My blaster had been stored in our room since the night before, so I went to get it to make sure I didn't forget it. The room was still a mess with the pillows and sheets tossed every which way. I bit my lip as I glanced across the room and remembered the night prior yet again; I don't think I would ever not have that reaction. The blaster was sitting on the floor, covered by my undershirt; classy. Once the weapon was secured tightly to my hip, I looked out the window and saw us lowering outside a city.

"We're landing," Din called out.

"I see that," I responded sarcastically. We stood side by side as the ramp lowered, dust blowing into the ship. He walked out ahead of me, his cloak flapping in the wind; I could see a small corner of it was missing, I wonder. My small daydream came to an end when my name was called. I looked up and saw Din beckoning for me with his hand. The air was dry and suffocating; I could feel my skin cracking as the sand particles touched it.

The town wasn't nearly as busy as I expected; in fact, it was barren. I followed Din as he navigated the streets and took us to a small tavern, inside were creatures of all sorts. A hush fell upon the crowd inside as they looked over to us. Din stood broad and fearless, and beside him, I looked the exact opposite. Din walked towards the bar and leaned on the countertop as he talked to the droid behind the bar. The tin can hadn't heard of any fires, but the whispers and sideways glances from the corner led me to believe that those people knew. Three men sat around a table, visibly intoxicated. Din continued to talk to the people at the bar trying to get information as I strutted towards the men. I pulled out the fourth chair at the table and sat down, looking between the three men, all human surprisingly.

"Something tells me, that you know about something, that I would like to know about," I stated. One of the men scoffed and sipped from his cup.

"If you want any information that bad, it'll cost you," he slurred. I raised an eyebrow at his statement and stood from my chair to walk behind his. My hands grazed over his shoulders and moved onto the next man, resting my hand on his cheek and giving him a wink; I landed on the lap of the final man and tousled his hair.

"There...there was a-a fire two hours north...my... my sister and her children escaped... stormtroopers torched the place," the final man stuttered out.

"Thank you for your honesty," I replied gently. I felt a hand wrap around my bicep and pull me off the man's lap. Din dragged me out of the tavern.

"What the hell Sindre?" he asked.

"What Mando? It worked, did it not?" He scoffed and threw his hands in the air and stormed away. "Mando!" I screamed. He continued to walk away from me. I jogged to catch up with him and grabbed his hand to stop him. "What's wrong?" He stood still for a moment before sighing loudly.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong Sindre. We need to find the remains of the town before it's too late," he replied, pulling his hand from mine and walking away.

"How will we get there? The ship?"

"It's best if that stays here, the town will keep the Jawas from destroying it, we ride speeders out that direction." We traveled to a Bazar where luckily a man was renting them. Din gave him enough coin to cover at least two days' travel for two speeders. The man led us to the building they were stored in and let Din and I picked the two we desired. They were, all the same other than some color differences. Din picked the two he thought would be best and the man escorted us out of the building as his droids worked to bring them to us.

"Have you ever ridden one of these before?" Din asked. I shook my head in response. At this moment, the droids had delivered the speeders to our side. "Here, let me show you." His hands grabbed my waist and helped lift me onto the seat; his chest pressed against my back and his hands were placed on top of mine. "The lever under the left handle is your gas, the lever under the right handle is the break. Try not to mix them up." I'm certain I wasn't breathing the entire time he was pressed against me. He backed away and walked to his speeder, mounting it and getting himself adjusted. Din sped off in front of me, blowing dust up into my face. I followed behind, trying to keep up with him, but the speed he was going made me uncomfortable. The sandy dunes were boring and repetitive. The only thing that gave me a sense of time and direction were the slowly setting suns which cast pink and blue hues throughout the endless sky.


	10. X

The ground was still smoking as we approached the embers of the once lived-in village. From the outskirts, I could see the outlines of bodies covered in the ash. I swallowed hard and looked away; the sight made my stomach twist in knots, if I had eaten today, I would've thrown up.

"We should start by looking under the sheets of the tents, there could be maps, details, in them," Din said. I nodded my head and let out a deep breath as I started on the left side. The cloth of the fallen tents was burnt and heavy; my body was covered in the ash as I heaved them off. One by one, we pulled off the covers and searched for anything; books, scrolls, maps, anything. On my sixth tent, I pulled off the cover to reveal two cribs, side by side. One empty, and the other with the burnt remains of a child. I felt a scream pass through my lips before my hand slapped on my mouth.

"Sindre! Sindre!" I heard Din scream. My body was shaking as shock took over my body. These children, most likely twins, and their parents had to decide which one to save. Din stood by my side, shaking my shoulders, before following my gaze to what was below. I felt his arms wrap around me, his hand holding my head into his shoulder as I sobbed. After my discovery, I couldn't bring myself to help anymore. I sat in the center of the remains hugging my knees and looking out into the horizon. The suns were low, just about to touch the ground; soon it was going to get very dark. "Sindre! I think I found something," Din called out. I stood from my spot slowly and walked towards his voice. In a tent in the far back, he was holding an envelope. He handed me the paper and I glanced over it.

"It's signed EMH, that's how they sign things jointly, but nothing in this makes sense, it sounds fictional," I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Just, read it again," he urged. I sighed and brought the letter back to my eyes.

"Run far, into a free town, one not talked about, one that is barely a blip on any map. Okay, so they were dreaming about escaping? I don't see how this helps."

"It's not a free town, it's Freetown, Mos Pelgo. It was turned upside down years ago by the Mining Collective."

"I'm sorry, but how the hell would I, a stranger to this planet, know that?" His posture straightened and his helmet tilted. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just shaken up. I apologize."

"I understand Sindre, I won't take it to heart." The sky around us was a dark purple, the suns were nowhere in sight. "It's late, we should settle in somewhere. It's not safe to be exposed out here at night."

"I... can't be here. This place is just draining."

"We can travel west towards Mos Pelgo for a little while. I'll find a nice enough sheet to prop up a makeshift tent. We don't have to stay in this village." I walked behind Din as he searched for an intact cover and a few sticks to use to hold the sheet up. We walked over to our speeders and I helped Din strap on the items he had collected. I mounted mine and he did the same to his. He pulled off in front of me, traveling slowly so I wouldn't lose him. We only traveled for maybe five minutes; just enough for the village to be out of sight. "Over here, we'll set up against this rock pile, so we aren't out in the open." I slowed down and stopped the speeder beside his. I watched as he set up our small camp. It was late and I wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I know that as soon as I close my eyes, images of the child will flood my brain.

"Do you need any help?" I called out to him.

"Could you grab that side of the sheet and help me slide it over?" I walked over and grabbed a corner, pulling that side over the sticks he had placed to hold it. The air around us was cold; my jaw was shaking, and I could feel the goosebumps form on my exposed back. Mando pulled back the sheet back for me to walk in, him following closely behind me. Once inside, he turned around and pinned the flaps of the doorway back, and started a fire with the leftover sticks just outside the tent. The faint glow of the fire lit up the room just enough for me to see the outlines of his armor and body. "Are you cold?" He asked.

"Just...a little," I muttered out. He unclipped his cloak and placed it around my shoulders; the thick fleece was warm, but not enough to keep me from freezing.

"What else can I do?" His voice sounded concerned. I shook my head; there wasn't anything he could do. We sat in quiet for a few seconds before I watched him start taking his chest plate off.

"What are you-" I began.

"Come here," he said cutting me off. I tilted my head in confusion but scooted towards him. His arms wrapped around me and pulled my body against his. The warmth radiating from him instantly calmed my shaking, but I don't think the warmth was the only thing that did that. My head rested on his chest, his heartbeat ringing through my ears. I watched the fire as it danced in the night; my eyelids growing heavy and my body going limp.

I was right about my dreams. I was back in the village, the fires were still burning rampant, and I watched it all from the center. I watched as one family, a mother with two older children ran through the village screaming. The sister was hurt, unable to walk, so the mother was carrying her. The brother carrying a blanket-wrapped bundle. They had emerged from a tent, the tent. I pushed my body to run; my feet felt like bricks as I ran in slow motion, reaching out to stop the stormtroopers, but I was too late. The tent was lit up, the wailing off a baby coming from inside. I dropped to my knees and screamed as the horrors appeared before me.

I shot up from my spot screaming. Din was sitting just outside in the morning light.

"Sindre! What's wrong, what happened?" He asked as he scurried to the doorway. I sat up gasping for air, my eyes darting around the room until they landed on him.

"Yeah, yeah, just a nightmare. I'm okay." I replied. His hand reached out for mine. I slid my small hand into his gloved one, there was a pause as we stared at each other before he pulled me up and out of the small room into the cool dawn. The cloak was still wrapped around my shoulders; I slid it off and wrapped it around his shoulders to attach it. "Thank you for last night."

"Of course, Sindre," he replied, "I would do damn near anything for you." He muttered the last bit to himself, but it was just loud enough for me to register it; a small smile formed on my lips when I heard it, a blush rising to my cheeks. "Mos Pelgo is going to be a few more hours north. Do you need anything to eat or drink? I can't promise anything but if there is a place on the way I'll make sure we stop"

"Din, I've gone days without eating or drinking on Tython. I'll be fine for a while." He nodded his head and we walked towards our speeders to get ready for the day's travels. The ride was just as boring this time as it was last. Every 15 minutes or so I started getting worried that we were lost. I'm not exactly an astrologer, but the movement of the suns was telling us we've been going for far too long.

When I was starting to give up hope, I saw the outline of a small village appear on the horizon. My excitement got the best of me; I pulled ahead of Din, sand flying out behind me. In just moments he was speeding beside me towards our finish line. The competitive side of me told my brain we were racing, and I did my best to speed up; he did the same. We were just feet outside of town neck and neck. I squeezed down on my right handlebar to speed up, realizing once it was too late, that the right handlebar in the break. I was bucked off the speeder, flying yards ahead and landing hard, rolling through the sand. I laid looking up at the sky, coughing hard and wincing at the pain. Din's head appeared above me, muffled words filling my ears.

"I think... I won," I coughed out. A smile formed on my face as I reached out a hand to be pulled up. My ribs hurt like hell, but I can still breathe; can't be anything too serious. A small crowd had formed around our little show. At the front of the crowd, a skinny man stood with his hands on his hips.

"Sindre, this is Cobb Vanth, mayor of Freetown," Din said. "Vanth, this is Sindre. We're here on personal business. Do you mind if we go somewhere private?" The man nodded his head and beckoned for us to follow him to a small building. Inside the building, there was a small desk with a 'mayor' name tag on it. The man sat back and kicked his feet up on the desk.

"How can I help you, Mando?" He asked. He had a twang in his words that I hadn't heard before this. I was busy looking over the man and the room when Mando grabbed my shoulder.

"Sindre, are you listening?"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Can you explain the situation to him?"

"Oh, yeah. My name is Sindre. Sindre Hejran. My parents were held hostage by the Empire. I don't know how to explain it, but I know they are on this planet and we believe they escaped to this town. Their names are Myn and Eliana Hejran. Do you have any information on them?"

"Well, funny you should mention that at this time. A small group of people came into town late last night. A few of them stayed but some others continued on. Probably wanted to put more distance between them and whatever they were running from. I would be glad to call a town meeting for you to see if they're here."

"That would be greatly appreciated Vanth, thank you,'" Din replied. Vanth walked out into the streets, but Din and I stayed in the small office.

"Din, what if they aren't here?" I asked.

"Then we'll keep looking Sindre." A shaky breath escaped my lips. I hadn't noticed that my hands were trembling until Din held on to them. "I think everything is going to turn out okay. It will get figured out." I smiled as he quoted my words back to me. The gathering of the townspeople right outside let us know that now was our time to look over the crowd. I walked out first and walked to the opposite side of the street. A small stack of boxes was the perfect height to prop me up to look over the crowd. The meeting was short, but I knew that my parents were not here. I sat on the boxes with my head in my hands. A large hand grabbed at my shoulder as I sat there for what felt like forever; I could feel the effects of losing my parents take over my body like they had the first time.

"If I may darling," I heard a feminine voice say, "I know your parents, and where they're going." I looked up at the elderly woman and then over to Din. "They said they were traveling to Mos Eisley, to find a flight to the planet Tython." I shot up from my spot and grabbed the lady's shoulders.

"Thank you so, so much." I grabbed Din's hand and took off towards our speeders. Mayor Vanth was standing in his doorway and as we passed by him, he shot us a wink and smile. We reached our speeders, both panting from the sprint we had just broken out in. "Mando, we have to start now if we don't want to have to travel through the night," I panted out. I mounted my speeder and got ready to take off when his gloved hand wrapped around my forearm.

"Hey, slow down. We have to think this through. If they're traveling by foot, they wouldn't come the same way we would. We're going to have to get a map and track this out." He walked towards a local merchant and grabbed a folded map they had.

"This is the way we took," he said pointing to a path on the map, "It's full of dunes, easy for a speeder to get through, not a person. They would've taken this path," he pointed to a different path much longer than the other, "It's flat here, rocks on either side for a clear path. They'd still be traveling if they are here." I grabbed the map out of his hands and folded it, placing it in the side of my waistband.

"Then let's go." I kicked off the ground and sped away; I could hear him do the same seconds later. We traveled for a while; long enough for the suns to move from directly overhead to directly in front of my face. I could feel my face begin to burn from the beaming suns and my lips chap from the dry air. We came into another cavern, side by side we drove slowly through the path. I wasn't paying much attention to the path in front of us and instead looked at the tall rocks on either side.

"Sindre" I heard quietly beside me. I looked at him with a curious face; he was looking straight forward. I followed his gaze to a group of people maybe 20 yards ahead of us. My mouth fell open slightly and I looked over at him with wide eyes. He looked back and nodded at me. I sped off in front of him to catch up to them, practically jumping off once I was close enough.

"Eliana? Myn?" The small crowd separated as I weaved through. My head twisted around, eyes darting from person to person. I could see Mando approaching the huddle from the corner of my eyes. A small tap on my left shoulder made me turn around. Two hooded people stood side by side. The crowd seemed to make a circle around us during our interaction. They slowly removed their hoods. The sobs came up my throat as my hand covered my mouth. Tears streamed down my face as I looked over the two in front of me.

"Mom... Dad."


	11. XI

We rode back to Mos Eisley together, my father on my speeder and my mother on his. My dad has his arms wrapped loosely around my waist, he was used to high-speed travel like this; my mother on the other hand was holding on to Din for dear life, her cloak flapping violently behind them and her eyes squeezed shut. I smiled and shook my head at her; I missed them so much. Since we have left in the morning, we were able to get all of the traveling done in one 8 hour stretch of traveling. The outline of Mos Eisley pulled over the horizon just as our speeders were on the verge of running out of fuel. We puttered into town, stopping at the warehouse we had rented the speeders from. Din discussed with the man as my parents and I searched for a place to eat and rest before taking off. We found a decently empty restraint and I had the two of them get a seat while I went to find Din.

“We found a small tavern to eat at before we leave,” I said once I found him on the path to town. He nodded his head and slowed his pace to match mine. For some reason, I got the feeling that he was upset about something. The alley was empty and so was the street ahead of us; I imagine everyone is at home having dinner with their families. Din stopped for a second and looked behind us and in front of us. I gave him a confused look at his actions and did the same. He slid his helmet off and pushed me against the brick wall behind me, his lips connecting to mine and his hands grabbing my waist. I kissed back without hesitation, but just as soon as the moment started, it ended. I opened my eyes to his helmet back on and him walking away. I stood leaning against the wall trying to catch my breath for a second before jogging to catch up to him. “What was th-,” I began.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry I should have asked,” he replied.

“In most cases, it would be inappropriate not to,” I started, “but you can do that to me any time, no questions asked,” I finished quietly. I could see him shudder beside me; he heard that. We continued to walk together quietly until we were just outside the tavern. Inside, my parents were laughing and eating bread from a basket in the center of the table. We sat down with them and they both looked over at us.

“Well, dear, are you going to introduce us to this gentleman?” my mother asked. I laughed at her use of gentleman and looked over at Din who was doing the same.

“This is Mando,” Is started, “if you couldn’t tell, he’s a Mandalorian. We met a little over a month ago due to some fortunate circumstances. He promised to help me find you guys.”

“And that he did,” my father stated. “We owe you, son.” A lady came over and took our orders before we continued to talk about our adventures, and they told us about their imprisonment. By the time we finished, it was close to dark. I stood from my chair and walked towards the counter where the lady stood.

“Is there any way we could buy some water canteens from you?” I asked.

“I can fill an empty jug for you,” the lady responded.

“That would be perfect thank you.” I turned around as she went into the back to get the water. At the table, my mom and dad seemed to be talking to Din about something funny as they laughed together. His helmet turned up to face me and he excused himself from his spot.

“What are you doing?” he asked me.

“Buying water to refill the canisters on the ship,” I replied. Just then the small woman came through the curtain, heaving a large jug behind her.

“Here I can take it,” Din offered. As he walked back to the table, I handed the coin to the lady to pay for our meals and water and also leave a gracious enough tip. My parents walked ahead of us towards the ship at the end of the street. Din and I walked side by side in silence as they chatted ahead of us. The stars were shining bright above us and lit the ground with a white glow. 

“I don’t think I have really taken the time to thank you, for everything,” I started. He looked over at me and nodded.

“You helped me, I helped you. This was the least I could’ve done,” he responded.

“Not just helping me find my parents, but for being a friend too. I didn’t realize how lonely I was before I met you.”

“Me neither.” We went back to the silent stroll as we finished the last few yards of the trek to the ship. The dock lowered as the four of us walked on. I guided my parents to their sleeping cabin and told them they should rest from their travels. I closed the door and walk to the piloting room where Din was seated.

“The journey to Tython will be nearly finished by morning if we take off now,” he said.

“That good,” I replied as I rested my hands on his shoulders. He tensed below me but quickly relaxed after a few seconds. “Are you going to sleep in here of the room?” I asked.

“You go ahead, I’ll be there in a bit. I just want to make sure everything is set up correctly.” I nodded my head and turned to walk towards the room. Once inside, I slid off my boots and jackets and placed them in the corner. I crawled towards the top of the bed and pulled the blankets up behind me to cover my legs. The window was cold against the skin on my back as I leaned out and watched as the ship hovered off the ground. The door opened moments later, and Din walked in and sat down. I patted the spot beside me, and he crawled up to sit beside me. We both watched the stars pass by as the ship was piloting through the endless space.

“Sindre,” I heard him call out.

“Sind. You can call me Sind now. It doesn’t hurt now that my parents are safe,” I replied, not breaking my gaze from the stars.

“Okay, Sind. I… I’m scared to leave you.” My head turned quickly to look at him, a questioning look on my face.

“Why?”

“I’m sworn to keep you safe from Bo-Katan,” he began, “and I don’t want you to leave.” I placed my hand on his and smiled.

“Everything is going to happen for a reason Din. Get some sleep,” I replied. I slid the rest of the way under the blankets and turned to face him. His helmet was facing the ceiling of the cabin, so I couldn’t tell if he could see me or not. I wasn’t really tired, but I wasn’t in the mood to have a conversation, so I simply closed my eyes and pretended to sleep throughout the night.

______________________

I opened my eyes as I felt the ship jolt to a stop; outside the window, the planet of Tython was small.

“Din, we’re here,” I called out. He sat up and turned to look out the window as well. He slid out of bed and walked to the pilot pit but not before doing a cute stretch as he walked out. I sat in the bed smiling at him and shaking my head before realizing that I was going to miss this. I blinked the thought away and pulled the sheets off my body. My boots warmed my freezing feet, and the jacket did the same to my arms. Din was sitting in his seat piloting us towards the nearing planet. My parents were chatting in the lounge room; I hope that someday I can have the love they do. Both sleep rooms needed to be cleaned, so I did that while the others were busy. I had decided last night, that instead of being forced to buy one, I would give Din this ship as thanks; he had better use for it than me. As I was making the bed my parents had slept in, I heard him walk up beside me.

“We have entered the atmosphere. We’re ready to land,” he called out. I nodded and turned to face him, giving him a small smile. Just past him, my parents stood together at the door. I could feel the legs hit the ground as we landed; the door lowered revealing the barren land and my small house. My parents walked towards it first, expressing their gratitude towards me.

“While you two get settled in, I think I’m going to go looking around for a bit. Mando?” He nodded his head and followed beside me.

“I was thinking,” I started, “I have no use for the ship. I want you to have it, as a token of my appreciation. You need it for your profession, I don’t.” His hand wrapped around my wrist to stop me from walking.

“Are you serious?” I nodded my head in response to his question.

“Of course I am Din,” I replied. I pulled my arm out of his grip and turned to continue walking. Just ahead of us was a pond of clear water. A huge smile broke out across my face as I sprinted towards it, peeling my clothes off as I got closer. I was left in just my underwear when I had jumped in. The water was warm and refreshing against my skin. I laughed and reached out towards Din. “Come on, it’s shallow enough to touch. I would be dead if it wasn’t.” He shook his head and started pulled off his armor piece by piece. I turned around as he stripped and didn’t turn back around until I heard a splash. I could feel his arms wrap around my waist and pull me into him. I laughed as he dunked me under the water, and he laughed as I splashed him in return. We stood still for a moment, his arms holding me, and my legs wrapped around his waist. His deep brown eyes stared into mine. My hands grabbed onto the back of his head and pulled him to me, connecting our lips in a fit of passion. I pulled away, both of us breathing heavily.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” he said.

“Then I won’t. I’ll stay with you,” I replied. His eyes widened and he shook his head.

“No, I don’t want you to do that for me.”

“Din, do you really think that I would do it if it was just for you? I don’t want to be done living. I want adventure and experience. I want to spend every day with you; helping you, working with you, caring for you,” I replied. “When we started traveling together, we were on two journeys that followed the same path; but now, I want there to be only one journey that we follow together, the journey that we create for ourselves. I don’t want to leave either.” He looked over my face, mouth slightly agape before smiling and pulling me back into him. I laughed into the kiss which caused him to do the same. We swam in the pond for a few hours before getting out to dry in the sun. As he laid on his back facing the sun, I sat up beside him and drew in the sand. “When was the last time you have done something like this?” I asked.

“I honestly can’t remember,” he replied. The sky was getting a purple tint across it, signaling that night was about to fall. I stood from my spot to put on my clothes and he did the same. We walked back to my hut… my parent’s hut… to tell them about my decision. They were standing outside around a small fire drinking from some cups.

“Sind!” my dad called out before standing to hug me.

“We were beginning to think you two got lost,” my mother said from behind him. I chuckled and laughed at them before sitting down.

“No, we didn’t get lost. Actually, I think I found something, within myself,” I began, “I’m not ready to finish adventuring. I love you two dearly, but I’m still young, and I want to enjoy it while I can.” They shared a look before giving me a confused stare.

“Do you think that we will try to stop you?” I shrugged at my mother’s response. “Honey, don’t forget that your father and I met doing the very thing you are doing right now, going on adventures. We love you dear, but we know you need to grow from us yet,” I smiled at her response and stood to hug both of them before turning to the ship where Din was already standing. I smiled at him and nodded as he lowered the entry ramp. He walked on first and I followed behind him, turning to wave goodbye to my parents as the door shut behind me. 

"Here's to the start of our journey," Din said behind me. I smiled and nodded. 

"To the start of our journey."


	12. XII

The short remainder of the day was filled with subtle flirting and quick glances. For the time being, we didn’t know what we wanted to do, so letting the ship idle around space with the path set to Nevarro was the best option we could settle on. Din and I were sitting together in the lounge room looking out at the stars. I had explained the constellations and myths surrounding him to fill the empty air, but eventually, I ran out of constellations to talk about. I began to doze off beside him when he stood from the chair beside me and yawned.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To bed. I was hoping you would join me?” I nodded my head and grabbed his extended hand. I was expecting him to drop his grip once I was standing, but instead, I was scooped up into his arms and carried down the hallway.

“You carry me like we’ve just gotten married,” I laughed out. My arms were wrapped around his neck as his arms supported my back and under my knees. I was tossed on the bed and given a quick kiss on the lips before he pulled back to start taking off his armor. I sat with my legs crossed and watched him undress, my bottom between my teeth. He pulled his helmet off and when I let out a quiet squeal of excitement, his head turning to look me up and down. He was left in only his normal clothing at this point. I scooted towards the edge of the bed, letting my legs hang off the side. He walked towards me and stood in between them, one hand on each thigh to support himself as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

*smut*

“I was gentle the first time, it won’t be like that anymore.” A shudder went down my spine as my cheeks became hot.

“You underestimate me,” I said, turning my head to look at him. My words caused some sort of riot to fill him. His hand wrapped around my throat and tilted my head to look up at him. His eyes searched my face for any uncertainty, but they would only see the smile on my face. I was pulled into a violent kiss. His free hand grabbing my left hip roughly. He let go of my throat and grabbed each of my thighs, picking me up slightly and tossing me further back on the bed. He crawled on top of me, his lips attaching to my neck, leaving bruised marks. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head; his skin was warm on my hands and it made me want to be shirtless just as much. His lips moved down from my neck, my clothing disappearing before he reached each part of my body. My heart was pounding loudly in my ear and my breaths were shallow and erratic. His hair was clenched tightly in my hands as his face rested between my thighs. My underwear was the only thing keeping us from being entirely exposed to each other. I felt his gentle nibbles on the insides of my thighs, my moans getting louder as the bites got harder. I could feel his warm breath against my underwear; my body craved for his touch but was disappointed by his presence leaving the space between my legs. A frown almost formed on my face, but before I could open my eyes, I felt his hands grab at my waist and flip me around, my stomach coming into contact with the bed. My hair was bunched in his hands and pulled roughly, my head arching back. His face was beside me whispering in my ear.

“I’m going to make you beg,” he growled. I could feel his hand caressing my ass, playing with the line of my panties. My thighs were grabbed and pushed forwards, putting me on my knees. I could see him kneeling behind me; his hands moved over my body before ripping my underwear entirely off. His body pressed against mine; he was warm and muscular, and I was wetter than wet. His right hand traveled down my spine towards my head; when it reached the base of my skull, he pushed my head into the pillow hard just as he was placing himself at my entrance and pushing into me. The moan I let out was almost inhumane. He paused a moment to let myself adjust before continuing at a steady beat. The harder I tried to push against his hand, the harder he would pound into me. I could feel his pace getting sloppy; he was getting close. I took this moment of weakness to escape his grip and flip onto my back. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him down onto me. My arm wrapped around his head, holding his face on my bare chest. My hips bucked violently against his, the hot and heavy breaths against my chest let me know he was exhausting himself. I flipped us over, myself on top riding him. My hand wrapped tightly around his neck and held him against the bed. His eyes were clenched tightly, and his nails were digging into my back, I could feel the blood being drawn. I grabbed the back of his head and pulled his body up against mine. My head tilted back as I neared my finish. His hands grabbed the base of my skull and pulled my head back down.

“Look at me while you cum Sindre,” he breathed out. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was parted slightly. I screamed as the ball in my stomach unraveled and I began to spiral. He finished as I did, his eyes rolling back in his head as he groaned the prettiest moans. I pulled his lips onto mine as we rode out our highs. I slid off of him and laid panting beside him.

*end smut*

My head turned to look over at him, and when I did, he was already looking at me. I pulled myself towards him and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. I sat up and looked for my clothes in the darkness, but all I could find was Din’s. I pulled it over my head and turned to look at him. It fell just mid-thigh on me and hung loosely. Din was sitting up and looking at me, shaking his head at my attempt to model it for him. He slid off the bed and pulled his pants on before placing his hands under my butt and picking me up. I wrapped my hands around his neck and placed my head on top of his which was in the crook of my neck.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. I pulled back for a moment and he looked up at me, fear in his eyes like he had something wrong. I smiled at him and placed my hands on either side of his face.

“And you, Din Djarin, are the most handsome person I have ever seen, and I am forever grateful that I have the privilege of seeing what hides behind the helmet.” A small smile formed on his face and he gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead before setting me down on the bed. I crawled up to the top of the bed and pulled the covers around myself. I patted the empty space beside me to signal for Din to join me. He crawled into the spot beside me and put his hand up to motion for me to move closer. I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat pound. He was twirling my hair around his fingers as we laid in silence, enjoying each other’s company.

“Thank you for not leaving me,” he said.

“I never will. I’m here forever, whether you like it or not.”

“Do you want to talk?” he asked. I thought about it for a minute before I settled on the fact that I didn’t have much to talk about.

“I’m really tired tonight.” I could feel him nod his head before he moved in closer and tightened his grip around my shoulders. A few minutes had passed before I heard the faint snores come from Din’s mouth. I took one last glance at the clock before shutting my eyes tightly and demanding that I go to bed.

The trees around me were thick and tall; the air was heavy and moist; I was in a jungle-like terrain. It was night, the only noises were the sounds of the animals, and... yelling? Ahead of me, streaks of flashing light and fire appeared before me, the sound of screams echoing through the woods. A chill took over my spine before I took off in a sprint. Through the edge of the trees, I saw children and teens fighting, lightsabers against blasters. I felt a pull in my gut towards a specific hut in the back. I ran towards it, being ignored as I passed the fighting; they couldn’t see me. Through the curtain of the small hut. Grogu peaked around a stone table to look at the entrance. His ears perked up as he reached out towards me, waddling to my feet and clutching onto my shin. I picked him up and cradled him.

“I’m not really here buddy. You need to hide; your father and I will find you Grogu.” As I placed him back behind the stone table, the scenery around me blurred and I was pulled out of it. I woke up panting. The clock showed that only a few hours had passed. Since I fell asleep. Beside me, Din was sprawled out, still snoring. I sat up and shook his shoulders.

“Din. Din! You need to wake up!” he shot up, eyes darting around the room as he reached for his blaster. His eyes landed on my concerned face and a look of confusion twisted on his face. “Din. Something is wrong. Grogu is in trouble. We need to find him. Now.” The color drained from his face as my words sunk in. He sat there dumbfounded for a moment, the shock running through his body.

“Where do we start, where is he?”

“I don’t know. It was a jungle, thick trees. It has to be somewhere under the rebellion’s watch, right?” I sat racking my brain for any planets I knew of that matched that description. Din was out of the room at this point, probably trying to contact the rest of the gang: Cara, Fennec, and Fett. The realization hit me the moment I thought of Cara.

“Din!” I screamed out. I ran down the hall towards the piloting room where he was sitting. “We need to talk to Cara now. We’ve been there before. It’s where we took Moff Gideon.”


	13. XIII

The telecommunicators weren’t working, so the only way we could get into contact with Cara was to travel all the way to Nevarro. It was still technically night for us, so we were both exhausted, especially considering our activities before retiring. Din didn’t have any of his armor on. Instead, he was pacing around the ship shirtless and sweating. His hair was a ruffled mess, and his eyelids were heavy.

“Din,” I called out while reaching for his arm, “you need to sit down. You’re going to give yourself an ulcer. He’s a smart kid. He will protect himself. All we can do now is wait and… pray.” He looked up at me, lips in a frown and eyes brimming with tears. I pulled him into my arms, pushing his head into the crook of my neck and holding him tightly. His wet tears slid down my neck as they fell from his eyes.

“He’s everything to me Sind. I can’t lose him.” I nodded my head to show my understanding. The feelings he’s experiencing were all too familiar to me, and I know the only thing I wanted was someone to hold me and reassure me. We began swaying where we were standing to a silent toon. After a few minutes, I pulled his head away and held it in my hands. His cheeks were crimson, and his eyes were puffy. My thumbs wiped away the tears resting under his eyes. He watched my every movement with great intensity. I gave him a soft smile before leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Come on Din, we should try to get a little rest before getting to Nev-.”

“I love you,” he blurted out. I looked up at him stunned. My mouth opened to respond but nothing came out. I’m sure with my shocked blinking and gaping mouth, I looked like a fish. His eyebrows furrowed as he searched my face, fear overwhelming his face. “I’m sorry did I say something wrong?”

“No, Din,” I said while clasping his hands into mine, “I just wasn’t expecting that.” I sighed and rubbed my eyes, pushing my hair behind my ear before continuing. “Din the emotions your feeling can easily be mistaken.”

“No, I’m sure of it. I have been. I love you.” I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I tried to stifle a smile. This wasn’t the time to show joyous emotion.

“And I love you too Din.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the room. Once inside, I practically forced him to get under the covers and go to bed, locking the door from the outside as I walked out. I went to the piloting room and sat in the large chair in the middle. The stars moved quickly past my eyes, but instead of enjoying the cosmos outside the window, I sat and thought of him. I doubt he really meant what he said, and with his overwhelming level of distress, I doubt he’ll remember my response. It wasn’t a lie, my response, it was the honest truth, but the life of a bounty hunter doesn’t allow for relationships like these, and eventually, it will come to a bitter end.

My eyelids began to droop, sadly for me, we were only an hour out of Nevarro, meaning I wouldn’t have nearly as much sleep as I required. I could hear the pounding on a door from down the hall.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself. I ran down the hall to our room, unlocking the door quickly and coming face to face with a dissatisfied Din Djarin.

“I require my shirt,” he explained. I looked down and realized I had still been wearing it this entire night. I stepped into the room and slid it over my head before handing it to him. I scavenged for the remainder of my clothes. A shirt, pants, socks, bralette, and my final pair of underwear. I quickly dressed and turned around to see Din putting on his Beskar.

“Does that make you taller?” I asked. He looked up; eyebrows raised.

“Three Inches,” he replied. I nodded my head and attempted to tame my hair. It was far past my shoulder blades at this point and too much to handle. After letting out an exasperated sigh, I stormed out of the room in search of a pair of scissors. After finding a somewhat usable pair, I pulled all of my hair into a low ponytail down my back and chopped it off, nearly a foot. I walked back to the room with my bunch of hair in hand. Din was sliding his helmet over his head as I turned the corner. I proudly flaunted my new haircut, turning around to show him the length. He stepped forward and I could feel his gloved hand run down the exposed back of my shirt. I sharp pain stabbed through my back as his fingers traced. “You might want to wear your jacket if you don’t want anyone to see those.” He walked past me, leaving me alone with just my bunch of hair. If I didn’t want anyone to see what? I threw the hair in a trash bin and walked quickly to the lounge room. The walls were reflective enough to act as a blurry mirror.

I turned my back to the mirror and twisted my head around to see what had happened. The blurry outlines of red scratches down the center of my back sent me in a tizzy. Din stood in the doorway; one hand propped up on the door frame.

“Did you-” I started.

“I said I would be rougher, did I not?” I swallowed hard and nodded my head. He walked towards me, my jacket in hand. “To cover them.” I looked up at him with a confused face.

“Why would I want to cover them?” I said smirking. I walked past him to the piloting room to check the ETA for Nevarro. To my surprise, the planet was growing in the distance as we approached it.

“It’ll only be a few minutes before we're there. I’ll talk to Cara about getting the location.” I turned and gave him a brief smile before sitting in my co-piloting seat to be out of his way while he lands us in Nevarro City. The ashen ground of the planet was all too familiar. As we landed on the outskirts of the city, in the distance I could see the outline of my burned hometown. The small glimpse I caught sent a shiver down my spine that made my stomach spasm in disgust. I bit my lip to hold back any tears that might have spilled before standing to walk to the bay door. I quickly wiped away the few that had escaped before Din could see, but to my despair, I was too slow in doing so.

“Are you okay?” I heard from behind me. I turned and gave Din a confused face and smiled.

“I’m fine, why?”

“Oh, I just thought I saw you… never mind.” The door lowered exposing the cracked dirt and warm air. I followed behind Din as he walked towards the city, his cloak flying behind him; sometimes I couldn’t tell if there was the wind blowing or if he just walked so fast the air pushed it back. I sped up my pace to catch up to him, before falling back into my normal speed. The walk was silent, but every so often I could see Din look down at me out of the corner of my eye. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from saying anything about his repetitive action. Before I had time to register it, we were standing inside the mayor’s office. Greef Carga was holding out his arms to hug Din while Cara was sitting on the edge of her desk, arms crossed and smiling. I walked over to her while the two men were talking. She smiled and uncrossed her arms to give me a hug. Her arms were wrapped tightly around me; it felt nice to have physical contact outside of Din.

“Have you heard from Fennec?” I asked. She smiled and nodded.

“She actually visited last week and stayed for a while. She’s been talking about coming to stay here, with me,” Cara replied. I gave her a wide smile and opened my mouth the respond but was quickly cut off by Din’s interruption.

“You know I hate to put you in this position again. But I need your help finding the kid,” he said to Cara. She sighed and shook her head.

“Listen Mando, I did what I could last time, but since then, the rebellion has really been cracking down on us town officials,” she said, motioning to the Rebel officers walking past the building, “I can’t help you.” I looked over at Din for a split second before responding to Cara.

“You can’t give us the information. But perhaps, if you showed Mando the view of the town from the doorway, and Greef was to enjoy the fresh air from the window, the information would… fall into our laps?” I watched the wheels turn in Cara’s head. The internal argument she was having was quite visible.

“Actually, Mando, I was wondering if I could have your… tactical input on the layout of the town,” Cara finally announced. Greef chuckled and turned to face the window, drinking from a cup in the process. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding before walking behind her desk and kneeling in front of the screen. I typed in the information for Gideon trying to get the location as quick as possible before their blocking of the opening to the building began to look suspicious. Moff Gideon, held in Sunspot Prison, obtained on Yavin 4. Yavin 4, I had heard of the place before, a jungle-covered moon to Yavin Prime. I quickly closed out all of the pages to hide our tracks from not only the Rebel officials but Cara too; she didn’t need to be burdened with our issues. I stood from my spot and coughed loudly to signal that I was finished. Cara and Din finished their conversation and Greef turned to refill his cup. I nodded at Cara and she did the same in response.

“We need to go quickly,” I said to Din. We gave our thanks and goodbyes to our two friends and turned to walk out. At the last minute, Cara grabbed my wrist to stop me. Din was walking ahead of me and stopped in the middle of the street when he noticed that I wasn’t beside him.

“Sindre, did you find your parents?” Cara asked. I smile and nodded at her. “Then… why are you still traveling with Mando?” I felt a blush rise to my cheeks at her question.

“I… think you know why Cara. Say hi to Fennec for me.” I turned and quickly walked to Din to fill him in on the information.

“What did you learn?” he asked me. I looked at the Rebel officers walking past us gave them a curt smile and nod.

“I think it’s best if we wait until we are on the ship,” I muttered just loud enough for only him to hear. We walked together briskly, almost in a jog. When we finally reached the ramp, I was panting and sweating, but Din looked like nothing had happened.

“How do you do that?” I labored out.

“Years’ worth of physical training,” he replied. I chuckled and turned to the kitchenette to pour myself a glass of water from the freshly refilled canteens.

“Yavin 4. That’s where they’re at,” I said before taking a large sip.

“Yavin 4? That’s… hours away,” Din responded.

“Well, what did you expect Din? They would put a secret Rebel base on the most well-known planet?” I questioned while rummaging through the cabinets for food. I heard him huff and storm of towards the piloting room. I pulled down a box of crackers and followed behind him. Inside the room, he hovered over the navigation screen.

“18 hours,” he called out.

“Look like we’re going to have a lot of time to kill,” I replied. He turned around and took off his helmet, setting on the piloting chair.

“What should we do first?”


	14. XIV

“That’s the third time in an hour Sind,” Din yelled, exasperated.

“What can I say, my dad was a master at Pazaak,” I replied laughing. The cards were scattered across the floor of the lounge after Din pushed them away during his tantrum. “I’m hungry, are you?” He was leaning back, his head facing the ceiling, eyes closed. My question took a few seconds to register before he finally understood my words. His eyes opened quickly with a look of surprise.

“Starving,” he replied as he stood from his spot across from me. I reached out my hand for him to assist me in getting up and was graciously helped in doing so. We took the short trip together to the kitchenette to rummage through the cabinets.

“There’s one bag of dried fruit, a canteen of broth, and one packet of instant bread left,” I called out. I pulled out the containers and quickly assembled the small meal for the two of us. Din grabbed all of the dishes and went back to the lounge room. I, on the other hand, went to the piloting room to check the travel log. The navigation screen had a holograph of the time above it; 12 hours remaining on the trip. I looked out the large window at the dark abyss we were swimming through. The light reflecting from a nearby planet bounced off the metal detailing in the room. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a brief shimmer from under the copiloting chair.

“Sind, are you coming?” Din yelled from down the hall. I hesitated for a moment deciding whether to investigate or join him. My curiosity got the better of me; I got on my hands and knees for a better view of the space under the chair. Sitting, shoved between a box and the leg of the chair was the Darksaber. My hand slowly reached out to grab it. “What are you doing?” I heard from behind me. I quickly stood from my spot and turned to face him.

“I… I thought I heard something crack when I sat on the chair.” The look on his face showed that he knew I wasn’t telling the truth, but he seemed to ignore my actions and instead walked back to the lounge. I followed behind him, but not before giving the weapon a second look. Din sat on the floor; legs pulled to his chest. I sat beside him, crossing my legs in front of me. We split the food in half for us each to get our fair portion.

“Did you have any more dreams last night?” he asked. I shook my head and quickly swallowed my food.

“No, I couldn’t sleep. I had a lot on my mind.”

“I did too, obviously,” he said. I looked up and gave him a soft smile. The was a moment of silence between the two of us. It was comfortable, with no awkwardness. “I meant it you know.” I blinked hard and swallowed the spit that had formed in my mouth. “I know you think I only said it because I was emotional, but I meant it, and I have known it.” I smiled softly and sucked in a deep breath.

“And I meant it just as much,” I replied. We looked at each other, smiling softly and staring deep into each other’s eyes.

“And it’s because of that… that I want to teach you how to use it, the Darksaber.” I about choked on the food I was eating. My eyes opened widely at his statement.

“You trust me with that thing?”

“It’s rightfully yours, you might as well learn how to use it.”

“When?”

“How long will it take you to finish your food?” His question made me break out in a wide grin. I pushed the remainder of the food aside.

“Put your armor on.”

“Never thought I would hear that out of you.” He chuckled out while standing. I did the same, following on his heels as he went to retrieve his armor and the Darksaber from the piloting room. I stood in the doorway, hands clasped in front of me, rocking back and forth from my toes to my heels. He reached under the seat after securing his armor and pulled the saber free, handing it to me. As my fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt, the white beam emitted at my side. I raised it to my eyes to examine; the light flowed live waves in a mesmerizing pattern.

“How do I hold it?”

“However is comfortable.” I flipped it over in my hand to rest in various positions to see what felt most natural. I settled on something simple, by my side with my wrist facing up. I looked up at him when I had settled on a starting position, ready to learn how to actually use it. He motioned for me to do something, what, I wasn’t sure. My face must have had a look of confusion that caused him to clarify. “Hit my armor.”

“Are you… sure about that?” I asked.

“Using all your strength hit my armor.” I bit my lip and stared at him, concerned for his sanity before finally giving in to his request. I wrapped both of my hands around the hit of the sword and pulled it up and behind my head. Closing my eyes, I used all of my strength to swing the Darksaber around, making contact with Din’s left pauldron. I opened my eyes just as the spark from the impact sprayed over the room, leaving it smelling of smoke. I looked up at his helmet which was already looking at me. “Again.”

We spent what felt like a day but was only 3 hours. The sweat was dripping from my hairline down the sides of my face as Din taught me different tactics and movements. My heart was pounding hard in my chest and I could feel the callouses forming on my hands from the tight grip I had around the thing. “I need a break,” I panted out.

“One more thing and we can be entirely done for the day.” My head was facing down as I was panting, but his words filled me with an instant bit of relief.

“Anything.”

“You fight me with the Darksaber, and I use my Beskar staff.” My eyes widened at his proposition. He pulled the staff off the wall beside him and held it tightly in his hands. “I promise I won’t do anything that can hurt you,” he said. I swallowed the spit in my mouth and stood tall, swinging the saber around to my starting position.

“Let’s go.” He jumped towards me, swinging the staff at my midsection. I jumped back bringing the saber around to catch his staff, locking it in an uncomfortable position. We paraded in this dance for a ridiculous amount of time; at one point, the saber almost fell from my hands. He stepped towards me with his left foot, an obvious tell that he was going to try to grab my arm. In my attempt to evade, I was pulled against him, the staff held to my throat and his head beside mine.

“Dead,” he exclaimed. I laughed at his comment before looking down at my hand. My arm hooked around his side, the hilt of the unlit saber pressing into the unarmored part of his midsection.

“Dead,” I replied. He let go of me shaking his hand and bringing his hands to his hips.

“I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“I had a really good teacher,” I replied before attaching the saber to the clamps on the wall next to his staff and my blaster. “I think I need a glass of water and a nap,” I said while heading towards the kitchen. He agreed to the water and followed me. I chugged down the large glass I had poured, placing the cup in the basin and stumbling off to the sleeping cabin, throwing myself into the sheets. I’m sure if my body was energized enough, I would have dreamed, but right now my body needed to reset.

________________________

I woke up to the feeling of my stomach turning. I opened my eyes and rolled onto my back trying to understand the source of this discomfort. I laid for a second before feeling a warm liquid move up my throat. I sat up quickly and ran out of the bed, going straight to the kitchenette where I could throw up in the basin. Outside the door, Din was about to knock, but my sudden outburst left him unable to say what he was going to. I reached the basin and wrapped my hands tightly around the edges of the bowl before throwing up the food I had eaten earlier. Din was behind me holding my hair out of the way as I gagged. I stood up, confused and disorientated, and looked around the room.

“Are you…okay?” Din asked.

“I think I overexerted myself earlier,” I replied. I used a small amount of water to wash out the basin before turning to look at Din leaning against the wall opposite to me. “What were you coming to the room for?” I asked.

“Yavin 4 is in our sights, it’s quite beautiful if you want to come look.” I smiled and nodded, following behind him. I stopped for a moment when I realized my hair was still held tightly behind my head. Reaching back, I felt around and landed on a braid starting just above the base of my skull. Did he… braid my hair? I felt a smile form on my face as I walked towards the piloting room, but the smile was quickly replaced by astonishment. When we came here to deliver Moff Gideon, I hadn’t had the chance to really see the planet before landing, but right now, the green and blue planet was growing closer to us; it looked so healthy.

“When will we be landing?” I asked.

“We’re calculated to enter the atmosphere any second now, so I wouldn’t say more than 10 minutes. We need to take a scan of the planet to find the town he’s in.” I nodded my head and moved out of the way, motioning for Din to take a seat in the pilot’s chair. He nodded at my movement and did as I requested, pulling up a model of the moon. He zoomed in on the Rebellion city we took Moff Gideon to.

“That’s not it,” I said from behind him, “the buildings are too modern.” He nodded his head and spun to the next city, it looked the same. We traveled around the planet before landing on a small camp which Din quickly passed over. “No, go back.”

“There isn’t any population there,” he stated.

“That makes sense, doesn’t it? Why would they want anyone to know where they train Jedi? Zoom in.” He sighed and zoomed in on the camp. The buildings looked like they were made of stone and shaped like an egg. “That’s it, Din, I swear.” He looked back at me; his eyes were wide.

"Are you sure Sind? We can’t be wrong.” I nodded my head in response and he nodded back, standing from his chair after putting in the landing coordinates. This side of the moon was in the nighttime, but the thick trees would hide the ship anyway. I watched out the window as we slowly lowered past the treetops, down to the mossy ground. I grabbed my jacket from my chair and pulled it over my shoulders before retying my boots tightly and joining the Din in the hallway. He was swinging the staff around to attach to his back and checking his gun for ammunition. I grabbed for my blaster and attached it to my hip before turning to join him at the ramp. I stepped away a few feet before feeling a pull keep me in the ship. I turned around and looked at the saber on the wall. I glanced between it and Din, before quickly grabbing it and attaching it to the other side of my belt but hiding it under the jacket. I quickly walked down the ramp to the ground where Din was standing, tapping the side of his helmet. “This way.”

“Hold on,” I whispered, grabbing his arm. “Din, we need a plan.” He stood silently staring at me for a few seconds before talking.

“Do you know where he is?” He asked. I blinked looking around us.

“Uh, yeah, I can deduce that much.”

“Good, you get him, and I’ll keep on the lookout, if things go wrong, you have your blaster, right?” I nodded my head and grabbed it from my side holding it tightly in my hand. I followed behind him as he walked quickly towards the dim light peeking through the trees. When we approached the tree line, the scent of a burning fire filled my lungs; a group of people huddled around the glowing light. I scanned over the buildings; this is exactly where I came from in my dream. A feeling in my gut told me that right now wasn’t a good time for this mission, but if we waited too long things could go awry. I crouched low and moved quickly towards the building in the far back, doing my best to stay in the shadows. There was a faint light glowing in that building; the sheet covering the door was pulled back just enough for me to see it. I sucked in a sharp breath before quickly turning the corner into the room and holding my blaster out in front of me. With a quick scan of the room, I had seen there was no person in sight. Grief filled my body, was I wrong? I turned to exit the hut just as I felt small arms wrap around my ankle. At my feet stood the small creature, his eyes wide and gazing up at me. I let out a quick sob as I reached down to pick up him, holding into tightly in my arms.

“We’ve got you, little guy,” I said smiling down at him. Outside a loud yell rang through the air followed by the sound of fighting; my heart fell into my stomach. Grogu was zipped up in my jacket held tightly against my chest; I pulled the sheet back and quickly snuck out of the building. When the tree line was in my vision, I made a dash towards it, ignoring everything that was going on behind me. At the last minute, before I would disappear into the thick woods, I heard a familiar yell.

“Go Sindre! Leave with him! Don’t come back!” I turned back to see Din surrounded by pirates and droids, barely surviving his fight. A ball formed in my throat as I watched, but the small coos from inside my coat were reminding me of the real goal. I let out a steady breath before running to the ship to get Grogu in a safe place. I stumble up the ramp, my body exhausted from the running and my lungs were burning. I turned the place upside down, looking for some place to hide the child, some place I could even forget about. I ran to the piloting room, finding Din’s cloak hung over the chair from when he took it off last.

“Okay Grogu, I know you might not be able to understand me, but that’s okay,” I said as I wrapped him tightly in the blanket, “but right now, I need to hide you for your safety, and I’m going to go help your dad okay?” The child responded with a small coo and head tilt. “If you hear anyone, you need to be as quiet as possible okay? I promise I will be back.” I gave him a tight hug before sliding up under the copiloting chair; no one would suspect it. My hands felt like they were vibrating at the same rate as my pounding heart. An itchy feeling was overcoming my body; it was uncomfortable and was driving me insane. The whip of tree branches smacking against my body stung as I pushed through the woods, the sounds of despair growing louder as I got closer.

From the tree line, I could see the flashes of lasers clashing and the outlines of bodies falling to the ground. A knot formed in my stomach, increasing my feeling of uncomfortableness, but again, a certain pull within myself guided my actions. I reached for my left hip, sliding my hand up under my jacket, unclipping the hilt of the Darksaber. Pulling it down to my side and igniting the powerful object, enraged a strange force within me. The world moved in slow motion around me as I ran into the fight. I could feel myself yelling but no noise was reaching my ears. My body was moving inadvertently, dodging blows and returning the hits without me even realizing I was doing it; this wasn’t me. When I came back to a conscious state, the world returned to its quick movement around me, the pile of bodies surrounding me made me ill. I looked up from the ground, across from me Din was using his staff to strangle a pirate, beside me, the Skywalker boy was slicing through the attackers like they were bread; was that what I had looked like? My gaze dropped from the two men to the weapon in my hand. A feeling of uneasiness filled my stomach before I realized that I was going to be sick. I turned and ran a few feet before I threw up, not wanting to desecrate the bodies any more than I had. A hand touched my shoulder and I immediately felt relief wash over me. I looked up to see the Jedi looking down at me, Din beside him. He gave me a strange look before nodding and stepping back. Din wrapped his arms around me, pulling me up from the ground and walking towards the small village.

“An invasion of pirates isn’t rare,” the Jedi started, “but I believe the delivery of Moff Gideon to this planet has increased the hostile droid population. Now that we’re aware, we can be more prepared. Thank you for your… unsuspected help.” A look passed between Din and me as we realized we couldn’t keep our secret kidnapping a secret.

“We actually came to get the child, I’m just more comfortable with him in my care. For now, at least,” Din stated.

“But we can assure you, the moment Grogu is prepared to return, we’ll bring him,” I said to the Jedi. At this point a small crowd of kids and teenagers had formed around the man, whispering to each other and pointing at Din.

“I believe this is our cue to leave,” Din called out, noticing the gossip occurring. Skywalker nodded and said his farewell as we turned to head back to the tree line. I was following behind Din as we started the journey back just as my name was called.

“Sindre, a quick moment with you?” The Jedi called. I nodded and walked back as he dismissed the group around him. His hand rested on my shoulder as he stared deep into my eyes. “I sense something within you, something powerful. I want to make you aware of this, for you to prepare.” I gave him a confused look at his cryptic message, but he only nodded and bid me farewell. I turned around to see Din waiting for me to join him on the walk back. The jog to catch up to him was short and once I reached his side I was quickly questioned.

“What was that about?” He asked.

“Oh nothing, he um, complimented my saber skills for not having any formal training,” I replied. His head nodded leaving me to think he believed my lie.

There was something powerful within me, powerful enough to need a warning, yet I have no idea what it could be.


	15. XV

The walk back to the ship was quiet, but it was easy to see the enthusiasm in Din's walk increase as we got closer. Through the tall trees, I could see the undercarriage light of the ship blinking. I thought I had heard Din say something, but instead of urging him to repeat it, I kept to myself, quickening my pace to get out of the hot and sticky air. We stepped up to the ramp at the same time; as it lowered, I looked over at him, he was fidgeting and shifting around. Nervous. I couldn't conceal the smile that spread across my face at his excitement to see Grogu again. I walked up the ramp first to retrieve the child from his hiding spot.

"Are you coming?" I called back to Din. His helmet was facing the floor looking down at his shaking hands.

"Yeah, I'll be up shortly. I'm just, worried," he responded. My eyebrows furrowed at his answer.

"Why are you worried Din?"

"What if he thinks I just abandoned him?" He asked quietly. The smile fell from my face. As I stepped towards him, I grabbed his hands pulling them closer to me.

"Din, if he thinks you didn't want him, he wouldn't have reached out to me. You are his father and he knows that you only did what you thought was best." I heard a steady, modulated breath from inside his helmet before he let go of my hands to take it off. "I'm going to go get him from his hiding spot," I said as I turned to go to the piloting room. From under the chair, I could hear the soft pants and coos the child was letting out. I kneeled down and reached under, grabbing the little bundle and unwrapping him from the cloak. "Hey, little guy. I got your dad back here in one piece for you." His head tilted around as he looked at the room surrounding us. "I know, this isn't the ship you're used to huh?" I stood from my spot; the child was sitting in my arms as I walked into the hall to find Din. He wasn't in the place I had left him, which concerned me slightly but not enough to induce panic. "Din!" I called out.

"Yes?" I heard from behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin as a scream arose from my chest.

"Stars Djarin, don't sneak up like that on the woman carrying your child." I stepped towards him and held out the goblin for him to take. Grogu's hands waved in the air as an excited screech came from his open mouth. A mix of a chuckle and sob came from Din as he reached out to hold the little guy.

"Hey kid, I'm here to protect you now," he said. Grogu's little hands reached up to his face as tears slid down Din's cheeks. I turned and walked to our room to give those two a moment alone. My body was exhausted and laying down on the plush bed was exactly what I needed. I could tell from the pain breathing caused I had a few ribs out of place; oh, would I give anything to have my body adjusted right now. I looked out the window above the bed as we slowly floated into the sky. The stars were bright, illuminating the bare room while also giving me a sense of safety; I had slept with a nightlight my entire life, so having this faint glow was comforting. In a hast, I pulled off my clothes, leaving me in only my bralette and underwear. The sheets were cold against my bare skin, but it was a nice dynamic from the hot planet. I looked down at the clock; it was close to two in the morning. I laid in the bed, trying to steady my breathing in an attempt to make myself fall asleep faster.

"You want to protect him, don't you?" A women's voice echoed around me. It was monotonous and smooth. I opened my eyes to see a white strip of light in front of me; no two, two strips of light. They moved closer to me, the soft hum the emitted growing louder. The light stopped before they disappeared entirely. "You need to protect him."

"How can I protect him?" The soft hum started again, but it wasn't anywhere in front of me. I quickly spun around to see the cloaked figure holding them by their side.

"On the planet where money exchanges hand and the corrupt believe they are dignified, the one in a rabbit's suit has your most beloved answer. Find him and protect the child." The hum stopped again, and I was left with only the sounds of my labored breath.

I came to my senses as the sound of faint snoring and the child's coos filled my ears. I opened my eyes to see Grogu sitting directly in front of my face, his little hands tangled in my hair. When he saw my opened eyes, he gave me a cute little smile before holding up his trapped hands. I helped unwrap the tangles from around his fingers.

"Are you tired?" I asked. His head tilted at my question. I pulled up the blanket and motioned for him to move under it to get warm. He did as I requested, waddling to the space between my stomach and legs, pressing his body against mine. It was only minutes before I heard soft snores come from him as well as his father. Sleep wasn't going to be an option for me, I was too busy thinking about my dream. The place where money exchanges hand and the corrupt believe they are dignified. The clock showed that it was nearly 6 in the morning. I was half tempted to wake Din and ask him about it, but with the child just now getting to bed I figured a few more hours wouldn't hurt. I laid in the darkness, listening to the sounds of the two sleeping creatures as I picked through my limited knowledge of the galaxy. The time had passed quickly; before I knew it, Din was waking up beside me and the shifting of the sheets around me let me know that the child was trying to crawl out. I lifted the sheets and he waddled out and into his father's arms.

"Any dreams?" Din asked. I bit my lip and thought about whether or not to tell him.

"No, nothing." He stood from his spot and searched for his shirt somewhere on the floor. My clothes were tossed onto the bed and laid beside me, but the warmth from the blankets really urged me not to leave the bed. Still, I needed to talk to him in a somewhat private setting. "Do you think we could go to Tython? Now that we have him it's just mainly a game of evading imperial capture, right?"

"I don't see why we couldn't," Din responded. I nodded my head and stood from my spot on the edge of the bed to walk into the piloting room. I sat there, waiting for the two others to join me, but was joined by only one.

"Where's Grogu?" I asked.

"He's didn't get much sleep last night, I thought he could use some more rest." I laughed

"Yeah, he woke me up early this morning to cuddle up to me," I said. I cleared my throat and looked down the hall, a habit to make sure no one is listening in. "Din, I lied this morning. I had a dream, I think. A woman telling me to protect Grogu. She gave me a riddle to follow and I wanted to figure it out on my own, but I can't."

"Go on," he replied.

"On the planet where money exchanges hand and the corrupt believe they are dignified, the one in a rabbit's suit has your most beloved answer. Find him and protect the child," I started, "but I can think of a million places in this galaxy where business is carried out."

"But only one place where the corrupt as protected entirely," he stated. My head tilted in confusion. "We're going to Canto Bight." Canto Bight, a city on the planet of Cantonica, I should have realized that myself.

"We can't take the kid, it's too dangerous."

"I'm guessing that is why you offered a visit to your parents earlier?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"They're is smart and well, they protected me their entire lives. If they survived the empire, I think they can protect him for a couple of days." I watched as he weighed his options, the silence killing me.

"Alright, we'll leave him with your parents," I smiled and let out a steady breath, excited that he trusted my decision making, but nervous about whether my decision was right or not. The trip to Tython from Yavin 4 was only going to be a couple of hours, even less if we jumped into hyperspace, which we had the fuel reserves to do. The small trip was spent mostly trying to crack the other half of the riddle and partially talking to Din. When we were about to enter Tython's atmosphere I went to our room to wake the child. To my surprise, he was plastered against the window, marveling at the stars and planets that passed by. I giggled at his position and walked into the room. I must have startled him with my laugh, because he jumped back from the window and fell onto the bed, letting out a small yelp as he did so. I picked him up and cradled him in my arms before walking to the end of the hall where Din was standing.

"I think he likes the stars," I said once I was standing beside him. Grogu was squirming in my arms once he saw his father, making his best attempt to escape my grasp. I laughed as he reached out and wrapped himself around Din's arm, using what little might he had to hoist himself into his dad's arms. As the door lowered to the dusty ground, I could see the outline of my parent's bodies standing in front of the hut; not only that but behind them was a luxurious garden filled with thriving plants and a new well. I smiled and ran towards them, giving a warm smile before pulling them into a tight embrace. "I missed you," I said once I had pulled myself back.

"Why are you back so soon honey, is everything okay?" My mother asked. I smiled and looked back at Din and Grogu.

"Everything is perfect mom; we just need you to do some babysitting while we go somewhere. We shouldn't be any more than 4 days." At this point Din was directly behind me, leaning over to put Grogu on the ground. He hid behind my leg, peeking out every so often to look at my parents. My mom turned around and pulled a berry from a bush before leaning down and handing it to him. It was a small berry, but inside of his tiny hands, it was huge. Within seconds, the fruit was gone, and he was in my mother's arms, practically begging for more.

"We'll treat him like our own," my father said.

"If you don't I have a feeling his father will show no mercy," I replied. I gave my farewell hugs to both of them and promised Grogu we would only be gone for a little while before turning back to the ship. Upon entry, Din removed his helmet and ran his hand through his tousled hair. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just get a little anxious leaving him," he replied. I rested my hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"I promise my parents will take wonderful care of him." He nodded his head and gave me a small smile before walking past me to the piloting room. I followed behind, wanting to see what the travel to Canto Bight was going to be like. As he was typing information into the computer, I looked out the window at the beaming sun.

"6 hours," Din called out.

"I can't handle 6 more hours of mindless travel; can we please just go into hyperspace. We have the fuel." He sighed at my complaint and considered our options.

"Yea, I guess," he replied in a defeated manner. I smirked and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before strapping into the seat behind him. "We won't be able to land in Canto Bight first, we would stick out horribly. I don't think the politicians would appreciate a bounty hunter walking through the crowds."

"Where do we go then?" I hologram of the planet projected in front of us.

"Here, is Canto Bight," Din stated while pointing to a large coastal city, "over here, just about an hour outside is another large city. I imagine it picks up the runoff of the gamblers and drinkers. With that proximity, it has to have some sort of luxury clothing shop." Luxury clothing? I tried to conceal the smile on my face at the thought of wearing a fancy dress and have my hair done.

"We'll need to be clean too. If you search for a shower house of some sort, I'll find our clothes. I'm sure I could guess your sizes."

"Sounds like a set plan," he replied. I nodded and sat back in my chair, bringing my legs up to sit crossed. I felt the familiar pull in my stomach as we entered hyperspace; a feeling of motion sickness overwhelmed me, so I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to face the ceiling.

"We'll be there in about 20 minutes. Are you okay?" Din asked. I opened one eye to look at his concerned face.

"The movement is just making my stomach a little turbulent, I'll be okay." The short ride was silent after that, probably Din fearful that I would throw up if we did or said anything.

"Exiting hyperspace in 3...2...1," he called out. The slowing of or movement made me lean forward; if I hadn't had a harness on my chest I would've smacked against the window. "You can open your eyes now." I did as he asked and stood from my seat to get a better look. Below us, a lavish city filled with marble buildings and gold embellishment sat high on a cliff overlooking the ocean. From the corner of my eye, I could see Din looking at me with a smile on his face; he found my astonishment amusing.

"This is, the most beautiful place I have ever seen," I breathed out. I small chuckle came from his chest as he took control of the ship.

"Give it a few hours and we will be up close and personal with its beauty Sind." I watched the city pass by below us before looking ahead at the next one in front of us. It was just as beautiful as the last but sized down by maybe a third. We lowered into a docking bay and walked to the ramp. I had a ball caught in my throat from my amazement; I was speechless. As the ramp lowered, the noise of the busy town filled my ears. I looked over at Din, who was starting the descent to the floor, and let out a small laugh of enjoyment. I ran down the ramp quickly and grabbed his hand, pulling him behind me as we rushed through the streets. The smells of freshly baked bread and sweets filled the air around us as people in luxurious clothes with extravagant jewelry walked by. In front of us, a massive fountain ejected water high into the air and on the other side of that, a massive shopping mall stood high.

"I guess, that's where my half of the plan leads me," I said looking up at him.

"I'll stroll through the plaza to find a shower house. I'll meet you at the fountain once I'm done okay?" I nodded my head and started to walk away. He grabbed my hand and placed a hefty bag on my palm. Inside of it, an assortment of different currencies.

"Where did you –" I started.

"That's for me to know," he replied before pushing me towards the mall. The doors were grand and made out of colored glass; inside, gold ornamenting decorated everything. There were dozens of shops and stands. From the corner of my eye, on the top floor, I could see a dress shop sitting on a corner. I quickly shoved the purse of money into my jacket and found my way to the stairs. The store was split in half, men's wear on one side and lady's on the other. I first sifted through the suits, trying to find one that would suit Din. Hanging in a corner was a silver-grey set paired with a sage undershirt. I reached towards it, wanting to feel if it was as soft as it looked.

"Can I help you?" a man asked. I turned around shocked, my heart pounding; I reached for the nearest table to stop myself from falling over. "Oh, dear. I am so sorry, I didn't mean to terrify you," he said while reaching out to steady me.

"No, I'm sorry I should've found help before looking around," I replied while trying to catch my breath, "I need to purchase clothing for me and my... partner. We're going to the casinos tonight," I said with a polite smile.

"And you're interested in this suit here?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"That color is kind of his thing," I replied.

"And do you have his measurements?" I bit my lip and swallowed hard upon hearing his question. I don't even think he knows his size.

"It seems they have just slipped my mind; do you have a chart or a list of some sort to jog my memory?"

"Of course, ma'am let me go grab our chart quickly" I smiled nodded at him as he walked away. Once he was out of sight, I quickly pulled the shirt around my shoulders. A medium fit my body perfectly, so it would be too tight for him. He has a wide chest and broad shoulders, and he's about 5 inches taller than me regularly. So, if these pants are reaching my belly button when the hem is on the floor they should reach perfectly. I sat down on the floor and wrapped my legs as they would be around his waist. The waist of these pants was too big, so I reached for ones of the same length but a different waist size, perfect fit. "I'm sorry that took so long it was put back in the wrong spot," I heard from around the corner. I quickly checked the tags of the items I had pulled of the rack, size 32 pants, and a 42R for the jacket; why is men's sizing so difficult? I was leaning against the table, the dress shirt in my arms when he turned the corner. "Is that the undershirt color you've decided on?" I smiled and nodded, quickly looking around to make sure nothing else was out of place. He handed me the chart and I glanced over it quickly.

"Oh, yes, a 32 in the pants and a 42R for the jacket, how could I forget," I said with a laugh. He joined my laugh as he looked through the rack.

"Well would you look at that, both were first on the rack," he said while pulling them off. I raised my eyebrows and laughed with him as we walked towards the checkout. "And for you ma'am what will you be wearing?" My mouth gaped open as I looked around the woman's section; nothing was appealing or matched with him. I picked through the racks of dresses, unable to find anything that would look good. Right when I was on the verge of giving up, a sage-colored gown made of silk slipped off its hanger and fell to the ground. It was the only one of its kind left and was a size 8, my size. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I picked it up and held it out. It had a plunging back and a slit up the leg; it was beautiful. I turned and faced the man who was getting a little angry at this point. I held it out and cleared my throat to get his attention.

"This one would be perfect." He grabbed it from my hands and walked toward the register. The suit was already packed neatly in a nice bag and soon the dress was laying on top of it in a bag of its own. I paid the man for the ridiculously priced clothing before walking out of the mall to the fountain. Sitting on the edge flipping a coin he had found was Din, appearing quite irritated.

"How long was that? Two hours?" he asked.

"Listen, it's hard to figure out your sizes when I have nothing to go off but my own measurements," I said while shoving the bag against his chest.

"Well the bathhouse is this way so-"

"I'm not done yet, we need shoes." The shift of his helmet gave me the same vibe as his eyerolls. "It would be faster if you came with me this time," I pointed out. He sighed and motioned for me to lead the way. I walked to the nearest store in the plaza that had shoes for sale. The long aisles full of options made me dizzy. Not wanting to spend hours in here deliberating over choices, I grabbed the first pair I could find in my size, a beige pair of heels, and bought them. I encourage Din to do the same, and he found a pair of camel brown shoes that would match perfectly with his suit. I let out a sigh of relief when we walked out, wanting nothing more than to get to the bathhouse and relax. Din led the way to the large marble building. Inside were men and women dressed in simple clothing providing spa treatments and other services to the clients.

"How can I help you?" I nice woman asked.

"We're both in need of bathing rooms," Din replied. She looked him up and down with a glimmer of interest in her eye and I couldn't help but feel rage overcome me.

"Of course, I'll have two rooms prepared for you each. Are there any special amenities you'll be needing with your stay?" she asked.

"A razor," he replied.

"And makeup," I followed up. She nodded at both of us and guided us to a small lounge room to wait for the rooms to be prepared. He was called in first and I was shortly after. The room was large and white with a bathtub full of bubbles in the center. I was shut into the room by myself, left with a robe, the bag full of soaps and makeup I was given, and my clothing. I stripped myself of my old clothing and put it into a bag they had given me for laundry that needed to be washed. I tossed the bag down the laundry chute and turned to face the tub. I stepped into the hot water, giving myself a second to adjust to the temperature before sitting down. I let myself soak for a moment before reaching for the bag. Inside was a razor, shampoo and oil for my hair, and a bar of soap. I lathered myself with the soaps and scrubbed the dried dirt and sweat off my body. The heat made my aching muscles relax but eventually, the bathwater started to run cold. I stood from the tub and grabbed a towel to dry myself. I looked in the large mirror in front of me at the strong girl who stood there. My hair was dripping water down my body, so I squeezed out what water I could before twisting my hair into a braid. A knock on the door followed by a voice calling out that I had a room delivery rang through the room. I quickly wrapped the towel around my body before answering the door. A woman stood with a board full of various meats and cheeses.

"For you to eat while getting ready, your husband mentioned you were going to the Casinos and hadn't eaten all day," she said. My eyebrow raised at her mention of a husband; did he say that, or did she try to make that connection? I thanked her and took the platter, closing the door behind me. I sat the board down and grazed off of it while I put on makeup. I was given a blush, a cream the color of my skin, a charcoal pencil, and a lip balm. I first took a small amount of the cream and rubbed it on my skin. The dark circles under my eyes vanished and left my skin looking like porcelain. Next, the blush, I patted a small amount on my cheeks to bring some life back to my face; I used the charcoal pencil around my eyes and blended it to make it look like smoke. I mixed a small amount of the rouge with the lip balm to create a lipstick that would match my skin nicely. I looked in the mirror at myself and let down my hair. The bun had created beautiful waves that made the look fall together perfectly. For the first time, I would dare say I looked sexy.

I untied the robe and let it drop to the floor, walking to look at myself in the full-length mirror. On either side of my stomach, I had small scars, not scars, stretch marks; peculiar. It would make sense if I was gaining muscle that my body frame would have had to stretch to fit it, but the direction of these didn't make sense. I disregarded the marks and unzipped the bag my dress was in. I pulled it out and stepped into the opening before pulling it up and sliding the straps over my shoulders. It hugged my body perfectly but was still loose enough to allow movement. I stepped into the heels and strapped them tightly, before looking up at my reflection. I couldn't help but smile at what I saw. Another knock came on my door, this time followed by Din calling out for me. I took a deep breath and smoothed my hands over the dress before walking to open the door.

Just outside, Din stood tall in his suit, which fit him perfectly might I say, and held out an arm for me to interlock mine with. He had no helmet on, and his facial hair was trimmed nicely; I could tell he used a pomade to hold his hair down. I heard him mumble something under his breath as he looked me up and down. I smiled lightly and took his arm.

"Where are our clothes and armor?" I asked.

"They'll be delivered to the bay; all we have to do is enjoy a night at the casinos." I smile at his response and looked up at him. He stopped walking and looked at me before wrapping his hand around the base of my skull and pulling me in for a kiss. My hands rested on his chest as we stood like this in the hallway. We pulled apart and rested our foreheads against each other before separating to walk to the exit together. Out front, a luxurious vehicle waited to take us to the neighboring city.

"How did you afford all of this?"

"Let's just say the people around here should watch their pockets a bit closer," he said before shooting me a wink and opening the door for me. I stepped into the car and slid to the other side and looked out the window. As I watched the people passing by, I got a sour feeling in my stomach.

"Sind?" I heard Din call out. I looked over at him quickly and smiled, trying to swallow the feeling.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready?"

"More than ever Mando."


	16. XVI

The road to the city was long a winding; outside the car, the sky grew dark and stars began to peek through the passing clouds above. As we grew closer, the sounds of cheering and laughing became louder and the smell of smoke filled my lungs. I looked over to Din, his hands were nervously rubbing his legs which were bouncing quickly.

“Hey,” I called out while grabbing one of his hands, “are you okay?”

“Yea, I’ve just never had this many people see my face.” I looked out the window at the people crowding the streets and the staircases. One man, in particular, had a mask on, one that only covered his eyes and nose but left his mouth visible. I tapped Din’s shoulder and pointed to the man.

“Would something like that help?” He nodded his head, the nervous look beginning to fade from his face. The vehicle stopped at the base of a grand staircase; the building atop it had a large dome as a roof and pillars all around the front. “You stay here, I’ll be right back.” I stepped out of the car and walked down the street, back to the man I had seen just moments before. “How much for your mask?” I asked one I had approached him.

“Excuse me?” he replied.

Your mask, I need it, how much for it.” He looked around at his friends and laughed sarcastically. I reached into the coin purse Din had given me and pulled out a handful of coins and offered them to him. The laughing stopped once they saw the currency and the mask quickly replaced the credits. I quickly walked back to the car, making sure to hold up the hem of my dress to keep it from getting stepped on and ripped. I pulled open the door to the car and tossed in the mask.

“How did you-“ Din began.

“Just put it on,” I replied. He did as I asked and placed the mask on his face. It hid the most identifiable feature of him, his eyes, while still making him appear human and non-threatening. I nodded in approval and stood from the doorway, shutting it and turning to wait for Din to walk around. I wrapped my arm between his arm and the side of his body but was quickly denied that as he wrapped the arm around my waist. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and prayed that the rouge I was wearing would hide my natural blush. We walked up the staircase together, every so often a group of people would look back and point at us as we passed. I did my best to ignore it, but the attention was making me feel lightheaded. Once we reached the landing, two men pulled open the large doors to the entrance. I nodded at the one closest to me as a thank you and stepped in, pulling Din along with me.

“What’s the plan?” he asked.

“If we split up it would probably be faster, but that runs to the risk of not being able to find each other quick enough to confront the person.”

“So together it is,” he said. I nodded in agreement and grabbed his arm. We strolled through the casino, analyzing each of the thousands of tables for anything representative of a rabbit. My focus on the plan distracted me from enjoying the beauty of the building. The ceiling was filled with paintings lit up by crystal chandeliers. The molding around the tops of the walls gave an antique vibe to the room, making me feel as if I had been thrown back in history. We stopped at the final table and watched as the dice were rolled and the gamblers celebrated. I looked up from the table and searched the room. My eyes glazed over every person I could see, before landing on a certain individual sitting at the bar.

“I’m going to go get us drinks, you stay here.” Din nodded at my words, but at that moment, I didn’t care for his approval. I gravitated towards the bar, watching the man's every movement, making sure not to lose him.

“One glass of Tsiraki,” I called out to the droid working the bar. The man was beside me taking a sip from his beverage, but I didn’t dare look at him out of fear that he would know.

“Tsiraki, a beautiful beverage, fitting of someone with your elegance.” I looked over at him, he had blue eyes, almost white, and pale skin. My eyes analyzed his face before falling to his jacket, his purple, velvet jacket.

“Velvet, that’s quite rare these days, I imagine the only people able to afford it are ridiculously rich,” I replied. He let out a dry chuckle before sitting his glass on the bar counter.

“Let me buy you a drink,” he said. I opened my mouth to agree to his offer, but the familiar feeling in my stomach said otherwise.

“I don’t drink,” I replied. Yes, I do; I love to drink.

“But you just ordered a beverage?”

“It’s not for me, it’s for-“

“Me,” Din said from behind me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and looked the man up and down. “Velvet. Isn’t that -“ he began.

“The rabbit’s suit,” I finished. The man’s face soured, and he darted from his spot at the bar. Din reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket before he was just out of reach.

“I’m a member of the guild, I wouldn’t try anything like that,” he growled lowly in the man’s ear.

“People know I’m here, if I go missing, they’ll come for you,” the man spat out.

“We don’t want you dead, we don’t even want you, we want your product,” I replied. His eyebrows raised as he looked between the two of us.

“Most people that want my product are trying to hide the victims of their human trafficking. I can’t imagine a couple like yourselves are trying to do that?”

“What we do with it is our business,” Din replied in the same low voice.

“Well, the demand for my product is high, and my supply is low. But I would gladly give you a vial, on one condition,” he began, “a private game of Pazaak with me and six of the highest scorers in the casino.” I looked up at Din as he looked down at me. I was good at Pazaak, but not good enough to put the fate of Grogu on a card game.

“Deal,” Din replied. “She’ll be playing.” I looked up at him, wide-eyed and brows furrowed.

“Wonderful!” the man said while clapping his hands together. Two men joined us and guided the two of us to a room; after a few minutes, we were joined by the man and the six other players. “Only she can come into the room, you’ll have to wait outside.” Din’s jaw clenched at the man’s words, but eventually, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving me with a kiss on the cheek and a simple “good luck”.

I turned and looked over my opponents; only one other woman was at the table. The cards were dealt out and the game was called to begin. Within seconds of the game starting, I had the same feeling from the night on Yavin 4; I wasn’t the person controlling my body. I watched from the inside as cars were laid, men were slowly picked out of the game as they lost, and it was left to me and the other woman. The cards in my hands were good, but the odds of her having a good hand were just as high. She laid down her four cards, a 5, 7, 2, and 3. I looked down at mine, 6, 8, 1, and 2; we were tied. I went to set down the cards but stopped when my number 1 card morphed into a 4 card. I watched as the cards were laid down, showing my hand of sum 20. The girl in front of me threw the cards off the table as she stormed away. Leaving me at the table by myself. The world around me came up to a normal speed as I felt myself enter back into my own body. Beside me, the man held out a vial of purple liquid.

“Your prize.” I smiled and grabbed the vial out of his hand before standing from my chair. I walked through the room to the other side where the doors were. I pushed them open, looking around for Din who was nowhere in sight. I stood looking out into the sea of people before feeling a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and smiled while holding up the vial to show him. The only problem was that it wasn’t Din, it wasn’t anyone I had met before. The man was tall and had a scar across his face. He wore a dark cloak and at his hip, I could see I saber attached, just like the one the Jedi had. I opened my mouth to speak but was quickly shut up by a hood covering my head and arms wrapping around me, carrying me away. I tried my hardest to scream, but the sound wasn’t coming out. My body was frozen still and the only sounds I could hear were the hushed whispers around me. Eventually, I was placed on a hard floor and the hood was removed. My eyes took time to adjust to the bright light, but once they did, I could make out some of the people around me. The man with the saber, two women, and behind them, Din. One of the women walked closer to me, grabbing my jaw and pulling my face up to look at her. It was at that very moment that I had realized the trouble we were in. Her red hair fell from behind her ears and she leaned down to me.

“I want my Darksaber,” she whispered between clenched teeth.

“I don’t want to fight Bo-Katan,” I muttered.

“That’s a shame,” she said with a sarcastic smirk. She let go of my face and stood, shaking her head while she walked away from me. “Where is it?” she asked Din. He looked just as drained as I did, but he looked like he had the shit beat out of him as well. He looked up at her and there was silence for a moment. He looked over at me before reaching behind his back and pulling it out of his waistband. Why did he bring that with us? Bo-Katan ripped it from his hands and walked over to me, placing it in mine. I looked down at the object in my hands before standing up and igniting it. All was still for a moment until I heard the firing of a blaster. Pain seared through my leg as I fell to the ground. A look of shock crossed Bo-Katan’s face as the saber dropped from my hand clattering beside me. Behind her, Din was holding a smoking blaster pointed in my direction. He walked towards me and picked up the saber, the light igniting once in his grip. My hands were covered in blood as I tried my hardest to stop the bleeding.

“I told you Bo-Katan, you come for her, you’re coming for me too This is between you and me now.” The man with the lightsaber picked me up and carried me out of the room into another one. I screamed out for Din, but he only looked towards me and nodded. He shot me to become to the rightful owner of the Darksaber, to protect me, and now he was in a room, armorless, about to fight a woman in full Beskar. 

There was a good chance the man I love could die tonight for me, and there is nothing I can do about it.


	17. XVII

I sat on the hard floor with my back pressed against the wall behind me; beside me, the man with the lightsaber, who was named Trusa, sat with his eyes closed. My leg had stopped bleeding, but the pulsing pain radiated through my body.

“How long has it been?” I asked.

“Close to an hour,” he replied. I wiped my hands over my face. My skin was dry and covered in smeared charcoal due to the tears I had been spilling during my time locked in here. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to lean on the wall, praying to any higher power to keep Din safe. Silence filled the room again as the two of us pondered the situation.

“So, are you a Jedi?” I asked. He chuckled.

“No, no. I prefer force sensitive person. I don’t align with that order.” I nodded my head at his response.

“Why are you helping her?”

“If I’m being honest, I was told this would be a quick and clean job. I was in debt to her and this is how she called for my payment.” I sat listening to him, but the words weren’t processing entirely. My mind was somewhere else, trying to find a solution to the issue we were stuck in. “You know, if you told her about the child, I think she would be a bit more forgiving and willing to bargain.” I shook my head and looked over at him.

“She already knows about the child; she doesn’t seem to care about him.”

“Him?” He asked. I nodded my head, brows furrowed. How did he know about Grogu?

“How did you know about the child, I never mentioned him,” I asked, confused by his knowledge of our personal life.

“As I said, I’m force sensitive. I can feel her. She’s powerful.” I looked at him confused by what he was trying to say.

“Yeah, HE, is extremely powerful, and also nowhere near us. How could you sense him?” I watched as what little color filed his cheeks, slowly drained.

“You. haven’t. I,” he stuttered out.

“What?” I yelled at him.

“You’re pregnant. With a girl. A force sensitive girl.” My body froze at his words. Slowly, everything pieced together. Luke’s warning, the odd stretch marks, the feeling I got in the pit of my stomach when danger was imminent, the random bouts of sickness, and the out of body experiences. My shaking hands moved to rest on my lower stomach. “I’m sorry. I- I thought you knew at this point,” he whispered.

I felt another wave of tears fill the brim of my eyelids. How was I going to tell him? If I even got the chance to tell him. Trusa and I sat in the room together, my head leaning on his shoulder as I cried. Another passed and at this point, I had given up all hope that Din was going to survive their battle. My eyes became heavy as we grew further into the night. Just as I was on the verge of falling asleep, the sound of the door slamming open and scuffling feet woke me up. Din stood above me, bending over to pick me up and carry me out of the room.

“What, what happened Din?” I asked.

“Negotiations. We’ll talk about it later, just rest for now.” The mixture of blood loss and the exertion of my emotions made me weak, so any attempt to fight sleep was futile. My vision grew black and slowly the sounds around me muffled until I was in a state of complete nothingness.

I woke up to the second of beeping; I slowly opened my eyes, giving myself time to adjust to the light of the room. I looked around, taking a moment to process what I was seeing. I was in a medic office; my leg had been wrapped up tightly and I had an IV inserted in my right arm. As soon as I opened my eyes, Din was standing beside me, brushing my hair out of my face and pushing the call button. A nurse pulled back the curtain and walked in.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake Miss. Hejran,” she said with a warm smile. She then turned to face Din and asked if we could have some privacy to discuss. He leaned down to give me a kiss on my forehead and walked out of the room, leaving just me and the nurse. “As you can see, we cleaned and bandaged your wound. It was only a graze past your leg, so there is intense damage, but you will have a scar.” I nodded my head and looked back down at the leg, wiggling my toes to make sure they still work. “We also started you on IV fluids to ensure you are staying hydrated.” I nodded my head again in response to let her know I was listening. “Now, we took a blood sample upon your admittance, and we found...something.”

“I’m pregnant, right?” I asked. She nodded her head. I felt a pull in the back of my head as tears began to form in my eyes; the harder I fought, the more painful the pull was.

“Ma’am, I’m required to ask you this. Are you safe?” I gave her a look of confusion. She motioned towards to door, I suspect to Din.

“Oh, yes, he would never hurt me. We just weren’t planning this, and we probably never were.”

“I understand. If you’re interested, we can do an ultrasound, to figure out how far along you are?” she offered. I nodded my head and wiped away the tears.

“Yea, I would like that.” She gave me a soft smile before turning to leave. “Ma’am,” I called out as she reached for the edge of the curtain, “I… don’t want him to know yet.”

“I’m not required to share your medical information with anyone but you and your care team.” I smiled at her response and took in a deep breath. Outside the room, I could hear her talking to Din about needing to run a few more tests and needing privacy. After a few seconds had passed, the curtain was pulled back and Din’s face popped in. He pulled the mask off his face and smiled. The feeling of relief that washed over me when I saw his face was the exact comfort I needed right now.

“I’m going to go find something to eat and get our clothing from the ship? Are you hungry?”

“Famished,” I replied.

“Okay, I’ll make sure to pick you up something on the way back.” He looked behind him before walking the rest of the way into the room and planted a kiss on my lips. He walked out of the room after, leaving me alone with the obnoxious beeping from the machine beside me. My arm was cold from where the IV had been placed, but the only blanket was on the other side of the room. I close my eyes and leaned my head back against the pillow, waiting for the nurse to return with the machine for the ultrasound. Nearly 20 minutes had passed before she came in, accompanied by another woman pushing a machine.

“Sindre, this is our radio technologist, she’ll be the one taking the ultrasound,” this nurse said motioning to the other woman. I nodded my head and watched as she fiddled with some controls on a keyboard.

“I’m going to need to pull up the hem of your dress to reach your stomach, I’ll place this blanket over your legs, so you aren’t exposed.”

“Okay,” I replied. It came out more like a whisper; my nerves were frayed at this point, and I know seeing the baby will make everything real, fraying my nerves even more. The radio tech placed a blue gel on a wand before bringing it to my stomach. The cold made me jump a little bit, but the more she rubbed the gel in, the better it got.

“There’s the baby,” she said. I looked over at the screen, surprised by the size of the baby. I could make out the head and both feet from how she was laying. “You’re measuring at about… 13 weeks so 3 months, does that sound about right?” I couldn’t believe that it had been 3 months since Din and I first… but it had to be correct because he was the only person I had been with.

“Yea, that sounds about right,” I replied. She moved the wand around on my stomach a bit more and wrote down some measurements.

“I can tell you the sex if you want to know,” she offered.

“Oh, I already know it’s a girl,” I replied. She gave me a confused look before looking back at the screen.

“That’s… right.”

“Would I be able to get pictures to show him? I asked. She nodded and pressed a button on the keyboard, one that I assume takes the screenshot.

“I’ve got everything I need,” she said as she pulled the wand away. She pulled out a cloth and wiped the gel off my stomach; from this angle looking down at it, I could see the small bump forming on my lower tummy. “The pictures are printing in the other room; I’ll go grab those while you get discharged. “ I nodded and thanked the woman as she walked out of the room with the machine, leaving me and the nurse to sign some paperwork.

“If you want to shower before leaving, there’s a bathroom connected to this room with a chair in there if you can’t put pressure on your leg yet; I’ll bring you in some soap and a towel.”

“I’d really appreciate that.” She walked to the edge of the bed and unwrapped the dressing on my leg to reveal the closed wound covered by a white scar.

“Wow, that healed very quick,” she pointed out.

“I’ve always healed really quick,” I replied to cover the real reason I had healed. She gave me an impressed face and peeled the rest of the gauze off. She then moved to my side to pull the IV out of my arm and place a band-aid on the entry site. “While I’m in the shower, my… husband... might come back with clothes for me.”

“We’ll make sure to have them in here for you, your paper’s along with the ultrasound photos will be on the counter in here so we’ll keep him in the waiting room just in case,” she replied. She walked out of the room after opening the bathroom door and turning the light on for me.

I swung my legs off the side of the bed and pushed myself off the mattress; the ground was cold on my bare feet. In the bathroom, there was a sink with a mirror above it, an open shower with a chair, and a toilet. I walked towards the shower faucet and turned it to nearly the hottest setting. While that was warming up, I slid my dress off and opened the door to toss it onto the bed. Right as I was about to close the door, the nurse walked in with a towel and a bar of soap. I grabbed them from her and placed them in the sink. I looked up at my reflection and looked over myself. My makeup was stained on my face and my hair was in knots. I stepped back a few feet to get a full-body view of myself; standing straight, I couldn’t see the bump nearly as much, but if I slouched, it protruded just a bit more; I looked like I was just badly bloated. I shook the soap out of the box it was in and stepped into the hot stream of water. My skin reddened upon contact and my muscles instantly relaxed. I formed suds with the soap and scrubbed my body with the bubbles, trying to get the dried blood and grime off my skin. I used the same soap to scrub my face, and the black charcoal washed off on my hands. The rat’s nest on top of my head was hard to manage, but the more I ran my hands through my hair, the more the knots had fallen out. I shut off the water after I was sure I had scrubbed everywhere and grabbed the towel. The mirror was covered in condensation, so I couldn’t get a good look at myself, but from the way I felt, I knew I looked one hundred times better.

The room outside was freezing compared to the hot shower. My clothes were folded nicely on the bed and it was then that I remember they had been washed at the bathhouse. TheyWOND smelled like flowers and were soft against my skin. I pulled on my pants, thankful that they had a stretchy waistband so I would have room to grow in them. My shirt still fit me the same, but it wasn’t a material I could grow in so I would need to buy a new one eventually. I pulled on my boots and slid on my jacket before walking to the table to grab my paperwork. On top, the pictures were laid out to look at. My hands moved to rest on my stomach while I looked at them, and a feeling of warmth washed over me. I folded the pictures and slid them into my pocket before grabbing the packet of papers and walking to the door. Out in the waiting room, Din sat in his Beskar armor waiting for me. I would have given all the money in the world to see everyone’s reaction when he walked in, but I guess I’ll have to settle for seeing the uncomfortable stares from the others in the waiting room. I had walked to the edge of the room before he realized it was me; within seconds he was standing in front of me, pulling me into a hug.

“Din, your armor isn’t comfortable to hug,” I breathed out. He let go and grabbed my shoulders, looking me up and down.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a worried tone.

“I’m perfect Din; I just want to go home, to Grogu.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go,” he replied while pointing to the exit. Outside the towering building of Canto Bight lined the streets ahead of us. He started walking ahead of me as he led the way to the car we would take back to the town the ship was in. I took a deep breath and followed behind him as I created a plan to tell him about the family we accidentally created.


	18. XVIII

The ride back to the bay was bland and uneventful. The vehicle we were driving in was much less fancy than the last; the lack of intricacy didn’t bother me, but the poor design that allowed in the rain did. By the time we had pulled up to the large structure, my clothing was drenched, and I was freezing. We walked through a system of checks to ensure we weren’t trying to steal the ship, and when we had finally arrived at the foot of the ramp, I was an entirely new level of pissed. I stormed up the ramp and into the ship, followed shortly by Din. I went to the bedroom and started to pull off my clothes, flinging them into the far corner to hopefully dry. There were no other clothes on board for me to change into, so my only other choice for coverage was the bedsheet. I pulled it off and wrapped it around my body before balling up the ends in my fist and clenching it tightly to my chest. In the piloting room, Din was sitting in the middle chair punching in the code for Tython. I walked in quietly and stood silently behind him, so much that when he stood and turned to walk out of the room, he yelped when he saw me.

“Bit jumpy are we Din?” I asked in a mocking tone.

“Only when I’m not aware I’m being stalked. If we travel in hyperspace, we’ll be to Tython in half an hour; if we travel at normal speed it will be 6 hours. So, I’m assuming we’ll be traveling in hyperspace?”

“No, regular,” I demanded.

“Sind, we have the fuel why would we- “

“Regular, Din,” I said sternly. He looked at me, a bewildered look on his face.

“Sindre, is everything okay?” He asked while reaching towards me. His hand rested on my side right above my waist. I flinched slightly at his touch, not enough that I think he would notice.

“I’m fine, Din. I just don’t think I can handle that right now. The motion and all that.” He gazed into my eyes to search for any trace of a lie before turning and setting the ship for a normal cruise. I did lie to him, but only because I need time to think of how I’m going to tell him. I’ve heard rumors that hyperspace isn’t good for the fetus, and I don’t want to run the risk of hurting her. He sighed and backed away from me, only to realize I was only covered by the bedsheet.

“Where are your clothes?” He asked.

“They’re soaked and I don’t have any other clothes so.” I shrugged my shoulders and motioned to the blanket to show that it was my only option. He shook his head and started to unclasp his armor, laying it gently on the ground. “What are you- “

“I’m giving you my shirt; I’m not going to let you walk around the ship naked.” He pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to me. “Put it on, please.” I sighed and grabbed it before turning around to drop the sheet and put it on. I reached about mid-thigh on me, long enough for me to not worrying about flashing him.

“Thank you,” I replied softly. He gave me a slight smile and nodded.

“Of course, Sind.” I stared at him for a bit longer before turning to walk towards the kitchenette. The floor was freezing and every so often, I would step into a cold puddle made of the water we brought in upon return. The cabinets were nearly bare, and the only thing that sounded appealing was crackers; thankfully, there was still a sleeve of them stuffed in the back of the cabinet. I did my best to crawl up on the counter, but a small misstep in my footing caused me to fall to the floor, slamming down on my side. “Sindre!” I heard Din yell out. I watched as he ran towards me from the other side of the ship. I felt his arms wrap underneath my shoulders and pull me to my feet. He looked me over to make sure I was okay before stopping and staring at my stomach. “Did you hurt yourself?” I looked down confused before realizing my hand was clutching my lower abdomen.

“Uh, yeah my knees hit it pretty hard when I fell.” Another lie; it was starting to make me feel like a bad person, keeping this secret from him.

“Are you okay?” I nodded my head at his question and pushed my hair back behind my ears.

“Yeah… I just think I’m going to go lay in bed.” I stumbled past Din and towards the room, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed and cry.

“I’ll come to lay with you. I haven’t slept in over a day.” I sighed, my plan to sit in a ball of sorrow was soiled. I agreed with him and held out my hand for him to grab. We walked together the remainder of the way to the room and once we arrived, I jumped onto the mattress and curled into a ball.

“Can you go get the blanket?” I asked him. I heard a quiet hum of approval before he turned to retrieve the sheet. During his time away, I turned to lay flat on my back and pulled the shirt tight around my stomach. I looked down at the little bump that had formed and rested my hands gently on it. I pressed my fingertips into my skin and was met with a strange fluttering feeling. I released the pressure and slowly did it again, feeling the same feeling. I let out a small chuckle and felt a tear slip down my cheek.

“What are you doing? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Din standing in the doorway, blanket in his hand. I quickly pulled my hands away from my stomach and sat up. He gave me a suspicious look before tossing the blanket beside me and sitting down. “Sindre, what’s going on?” I shook my head at his question and smiled.

“Nothing, nothing is- “

“Don’t lie to me.” I took a shaking breath and adjusted myself so that I was sitting on my knees. He was clearly uncomfortable but decided to do the same thing across from me. I pulled his hands into my lap and looked at him in his deep brown eyes. The tears began to well in my waterline and eventually started to trace down my cheeks.

‘Din, I’m pregnant.” The words left my mouth before I could think over what to say. His mouth fell open slightly as his eyes darted quickly as he looked over my face.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. His words hit me like a punch to the gut and I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

“Sorry? Why are you sorry?” He shook his head and looked down at my stomach.

"You didn’t want this.”

“No Din, YOU didn’t want this.” His face shot up to look at me, confusion and hurt in his face.

“Sindre, the only person I could ever imagine having a family with is you. I’ve always longed to have children of my own, but no one has ever made an attempt to know me, to care for me, except you. I love you, wholeheartedly, and there isn’t a single thing that will stop me from loving you or our child.” There were tears running down his cheeks when he had finished. I brought my hands up to his cheeks and rested them on either side.

“Din, I want nothing more than to be a family with you. To have children running around in the front yard of our home with Grogu. You are the only person I have ever had these feelings for. I have loved you for months now and I can promise, no matter what, I will love you for the rest of my life.” There was a brief pause between the two of us before he pulled me into a tight hug and nestled his face in the crook of my neck. I did the same and we sat in this position for a while, the stars flying by outside. I pulled away first and rested my forehead against his before leaning in to plant a kiss on his lips. My eyes were growing heavy and I knew that if I didn’t take a nap, I would be a monster of a person later. I laid down on my side and Din did the same; we looked into each other’s eyes and sat in silence.

“I want them to have your eyes,” he whispered. I smiled and shook my head.

“No, I want her to have your eyes.”

“Her?” he asked while propping himself up on his arm. I nodded my head.

“Not only that. She has the same powers as Grogu.” His pink cheeks went stark when I said that.

“Another one?” I nodded and chuckled.

“Another one.” He plopped down on the bed beside me and slid his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. I moved closer to him and laid my head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. It was slow and acted as a metronome to put me to sleep. As I was about to fall to sleep, I felt the small flutters in my stomach, as if she was trying to tell me she was listening to her dad’s heartbeat with me.

__________________________

I was awoken from my nap by Din shaking out my clothes from the corner they sat in. Outside the large window, I saw the planet of Tython growing larger.

“These are dry now,” he said as he laid them out. I nodded my head and pulled his shirt over my head and handed it to him. I got off the bed and started to dress. Din was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he was in the piloting room. I walked into the room and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek of his helmet. He didn’t do anything in response, so I assumed he just didn’t know that I had done it. He stood from his chair and slightly pushed me out of the way to walk to the door. I cleared my throat and gave him a confused look, but he continued his path to the lowering ramp. His ignoring me felt like a slap to the face and I wondered if I shouldn’t have told him and just acted like I didn’t know. Did he think I was lying? Did he decide he doesn’t want a family? One million thoughts raced around my head before I heard him call out my name from the door. I shook my head and took a deep breath before joining him. The familiar dust flew into the cabin and the light flooded the room. Grogu was waddling towards us as quickly as his little feet would carry him and my parents were sitting on a bench watching as he did so.

“Hi mom, dad,” I said while I walked towards them for hugs. Behind me, I could hear Grogu’s coos as he was picked up by his father. I looked back and smiled at their interaction. Knowing that Din was such a good father figure twisted the knife even further with his attitude before we left.

“I have the vial, but nothing to inject it with,” Din said defeatedly. I dug around in the pockets of my jacket to find the needle and syringe I had stolen from the medics. The blush that rose to my cheeks when my hands brushed past the ultrasound photos must have been noticeable, but I did my best to play it off and pulled the package out of my pocket and handed it to Din.

“I figured we would need it.” He nodded his head and pulled up a decent about of the liquid.

“This might hurt, okay?” he said to Grogu. The tilt of Grogu’s head towards me with his large eyes gazing up told me that he knew exactly what his father said, and he didn’t like it. Did slid the sleeve on his arm up just enough to find a thicker spot to inject before sticking the needle in and pushing the liquid.

“You’re just going to give that to him without questioning it?”

“I know what it is, I’m a bounty hunter Sindre. It masks his DNA signature, so trackers won’t register him.” I swallowed hard at his short response and the tone he said it in; if we weren’t in my parent’s presence I probably would’ve cried. He pulled something on his belt and tapped buttons on his forearm armor before taking a deep breath and pressing a button. He looked back at us, then to the piece of technology. “It works!” I smiled at his excitement and at the fact that Grogu has a higher chance of not being found. Din walked over and pulled me into a tight hug and whispered something, but I couldn’t quite make it out. He walked over and knelt down to Grogu and talked to him about something, but I didn’t want to invade their moment, so I walked to my parents who were standing in the garden. We talked for a little while as they picked fresh fruits and vegetables from the stems and planned their dinners. “Sindre?” I heard from behind me. I turned and walked towards Din who was standing on the edge of the garden.

“Yes, Din?” He looked back at my parents then at me.

“I need you to stay here for a few days, with your parents. I need to work out some business and it would just be better if you stayed.”

“Is this how it’s going to be now? You don’t want me to come along with you? You can’t shelter me you know, we’ve gotten this far without any issues, what has changed?”

“No, Sindre. It would just be best for you to stay. Please.” I swallowed the ball in my throat and unclenched my fists.

“Okay. How long?”

“A day, maybe two, no more than that.” I looked at the landscape around us and nodded my head.

“Is Grogu staying here?”

“No, he’s going to come with me.” I looked down at the small guy latched onto Din’s leg. I bent down and picked him up; he looked at me weirdly before reaching down to my stomach and resting a hand there.

“Huh, maybe that’s why he slept by my stomach. He was cuddling with his sister.” Grogu looked up to me when I said that like he was confirming my suggestion. I smiled down at him then looked up at Din. “Please me safe Din, you have a family now.” He nodded his head and pulled Grogu from my arms.

“I know. I’ll be safe, for you and Lyla.”

“Lyla?” I questioned.

“I’ve always imagined my daughter would be named Lyla,” he said with a slight shrug. I could hear the nervousness in his voice.

“Lyla it is then. Lyla Djarin.”


End file.
